Cassie Zabini
by Giminia Wow
Summary: The Zabinis have been in America since the end of their school days at Hogwarts. 13 years later, they're back and just in time for their daughter Cassie to start Hogwarts. How will everyone react to the new family? Why doesn't Cassie resemble her father? Will Hermione let her family's secrets be known? All Blaise knows is he loves his family, no matter what. Noncanon, AU, OOC
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I am not JK Rowling, I do not own any known characters only the plot.**

 **A/N**

 **Hello again everyone and welcome to my new idea. Just to let everyone know, this is not a triad fic. I was going to wait to publish, but I got such a good response when I posted part of a chapter that I decided to publish it early. This has not been beta'd yet, so I am sure there are plenty of errors. I hope you all enjoy. I will be updating this as often as I can, but I would like to continue Secrets & Lies as well so there is no set schedule for updates. I will try to get them out as soon as I can, but bear with me.**

 **Thank you to AvisBlue of _Avis1765_ for becoming my beta for this fic. I am always so grateful when I can get help with it because as much as I love to write, I hate to edit and do grammar, the more help I can get, the better.**

 **Thanks,**

 **Gimi aka Jess**

The tall, dark haired man stood on the platform; as steam rolled off the scarlet train, waiting for his family to arrive. There were several people on the platform with their children, saying their goodbyes, waiting for friends to arrive or to board the train.

Blaise Zabini was early, his ex wife and children wouldn't be there for another ten minutes. He stood there; drinking his takeaway coffee, a habit he picked up from living overseas for so long. He smiled at the train, remembering his own first time on the steam engine.

"Blaise," a familiar voice echoed from behind him. Blaise turned around to see Theo Nott and his wife Pansy with their twins. Theo and Pansy married right out of Hogwarts, their twin boys followed soon after.

"Theo… Pansy." Blaise greeted his old schoolmates, "Good to see you both, how are you all faring?"

"We are fine." Pansy answered after a quick hug, "This is Parker and Carter." The boys both shook hands with the Italian and gave a small smile. " We didn't know you were back from America, what are you doing here?"

"Waiting on my family," Blaise informed the Notts. "I'm a bit early, but my ex wife hates when I'm late, as this is Cassie's first trip to Hogwarts. I made it a point to be on time."

"Ex-wife? Cassie?" Pansy was shocked, "You have a child old enough for Hogwarts?"

Blaise laughed, "I have two children, Cassie will be twelve in December and Marco is nine. We got married right before we moved to New York the summer after school ended. We got divorced just this last Christmas, and the children and their mother all moved home to be closer to her parents."

"But that means she went to school with us," Theo surmised, "Who is she? She wasn't a Slytherin, a Ravenclaw perhaps?"

As the group was chatting, another family joined them with their son. The young boy looked just like his father, sharp jaw, silver eyes and platinum blond haired. The young family were the picture of wizarding aristocracy. The little boy ran up and hugged Pansy around the middle, "Hello Aunt Pansy, Uncle Theo. Hi Carter, Parker! Are you ready for Hogwarts?" the boy greeted his extended family.

"Scorpius, calm down." His father scolded lightly, "Hello Pansy, Theo… Hello Blaise, what are you doing here?"

"Hello Draco, this must be your son," Blaise greeted politely and shook Draco Malfoy's extended hand.

The young boy looked up at the new adult and stuck out his hand. "I'm Scorpius Malfoy, pleased to meet you."

Blaise chuckled at the boy and shook. "Hello Scorpius, I'm Blaise Zabini, I'm an old friend of your dad."

"Blaise is waiting for his family Draco," Pansy told the blonde man with a smile. "His daughter is starting Hogwarts as well. Blaise, do you remember Astoria? She is Daphne's sister, she was a year younger than us."

Blaise nodded in recognition. "Nice to see you again," he spotted a dirty blonde, curly haired little girl running through the barrier with a bright, eager smile on her face and he grinned. "Excuse me, my family has arrived." And he turned towards the barrier.

"Cassie over here," he called out to the little girl. She looked over and ran to her father for a hug.

"Papa, look at it! Isn't it beautiful? It's better than the photos! I can't wait to get to Hogwarts, mum says I'm a shoe in for Gryffindor!" The little girl blurted out in her excitement.

"Hey now, your dad was a Slytherin." He scolded her lightly with a big smile, "You have to be a Slytherin. It's in your blood."

"But mum was a Gryffindor," Cassie pointed out with a smirk.

Blaise turned around, shrugged and grinned.

Scorpius, stepped up and stuck out his hand to the little girl. "I'm Scorpius Malfoy, are you starting this year as well?"

Cassie looked at his hand warily. Her eyes flicked in recognition at the name, but only for a second. "I'm Cassiopeia Zabini. Yes, I am. I'm going to be a Gryffindor like my mother."

"Slytherin's better." The three boys chorused together. Cassie rolled her eyes and stuck her nose up in the air haughtily.

"If you say so. My papa was a Slytherin, but my mother and all my uncles were Gryffindors. I'd rather be brave than cunning."

"But you are ambitious Cassie," Blaise pointed out to his daughter. "You could be a Slytherin."

"No, I know the secret," Cassie gave her father a familiar smirk. "Mum told me how to make sure I end up in Gryffindor."

"Sly, cunning, ambitious, resourcefulness…" Blaise teased his daughter. Cassie shook her head adamantly and Blaise laughed.

"You married a Gryffindor," Pansy asked incredulously behind the father and daughter.

"Yes he did," The Gryffindor in question answered for her ex husband, "Hello Love, sorry we're a tad later than I would have liked, but there was traffic getting here." Hermione Granger-Zabini told her ex with a kiss on the cheek. The group of Slytherins behind Blaise all looked confused.

"Papa!" the littlest Zabini jumped into his father's arms for a hug, "Papa, mum says I get to come home with you! That you will be taking me to school for the next few days. Can we have ice cream for dinner?" With a dramatic side whisper he added, "I won't let mum know we do it all the time."

"Marco Blaise Zabini," Hermione chastised, "You will be eating a proper dinner or you and your father will be in trouble."

"Fine mum, I'll have cherries on my ice cream, I'll get in my fruit." Marco answered her cheekily.

Blaise laughed seeing defeat, "Marco, you can have ice cream, after you eat your broccoli."

Marco blanched at the thought, "But Cassie gets to eat ice cream for dinner, Uncle Ron says, they have ice cream for dinner at Hogwarts!"

"Your Uncle Ron would eat the table if it wasn't too big to fit on his plate." Blaise pointed out. His kids laughed. "Cassie will eat a real meal and then dessert, it's not just cakes and candy-"

"I'm sorry," Draco Malfoy interrupted, "But you married Granger?"

Blaise turned around to face the blond, "Yes, we got married about twelve, almost thirteen years ago; right after Hogwarts, we found out I got a job in New York. Sorry, let me introduce the kids, this is Cassie and Marco."

Cassie looked up at everyone and smiled. She was quite a beautiful child. She had her mother's hair, curly but not frizzy as Hermione's had been in school, a dark shade of blonde, with brown streaked throughout. What stood out about this child is she had grey eyes with a touch of blue around the iris. She looked very familiar to the group, she didn't have a hint of her father in her features or coloring, Draco noticed. Comprehension slowly starting to come to him, Draco looked up at Hermione and she just glanced at him and looked away.

"But," Theo tried to comprehend this, "You didn't _even_ know each other in school."

Hermione, seeing where this was going looked at her kids, "Children, Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny just arrived with the kids, go say hello will you. Papa and I will be there momentarily."

The three boys also ran off to talk to another one of their friends. Meanwhile, Astoria Malfoy had spotted her sister and left to join her.

Once they were alone, Blaise stood by his ex wife and addressed his old housemates. "Of course we knew each other. We had several classes together, not to mention I was a prefect our eighth year and she was head girl. We got to know each other that year."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Pansy accused her friend, "Why didn't you tell us you were dating _Granger_?"

" _Why_? So you could glare at him and laugh because he fell in love with a _Mudblood_." Hermione sneered at the three Slytherins. "The war may have ended before our last year but the prejudices were still there. It took years for my friends to accept that Blaise and I were a couple, even after we had Cassie and were married."

"Cara, let's go say goodbye to James, Albus, and Rose. Cassie it looks like it's time to get on the train." Blaise spoke to his ex wife. Even though they were divorced, they were still good friends. It came with co-parenting and being married for thirteen years.

Walking away, Hermione felt her stomach in her throat from seeing him. "Blaise, I'm so sorry. We should have stayed in New York. Cassie could have gone to Salem, it wouldn't have to be this hard."

"Hermione, sweetheart, calm down; you needed to come back to help with your mum," Blaise reminded her.

Hermione looked helplessly over his shoulder at Draco and Scorpius, "I had no idea they would be the same age, in the same year. Merlin Blaise, you must hate me for putting you through this."

" _Cara_ , I could never hate you," Blaise comforted her, rubbing her arms and kissing her forehead, "I have loved you for longer than Cassie has been alive, I still love you now, even though it isn't the same. I knew what I was getting myself into and I wouldn't change a thing. Cassie is what made us a family, no matter what."

"Blaise Zabini you are a good man, you should have been a Gryffindor," Hermione teased her ex husband.

"Bite your tongue woman. I'm a Slytherin through and through." He scoffed and she laughed giving him a hug. "You know you're going to have to tell him right?"

Hermione nodded. "But it won't change anything, it's not like he's going to claim her. He's married and he has his heir, _she would be a shame on the precious Malfoy name_." The last sentence was said with such venom, it felt more like a memory than words she would use herself.

Blaise grinned and puffed out his chest, "of course not, she's a Zabini. Love, he needs to know she exists." He wrapped his arms around her as they stood just a bit away from the Potter family. "And Cassie has never been a shame on any family or name. She is a proud Zabini, no matter whose blood runs through her veins, she will always be my daughter."

"It's not like I ever hid her from him, he didn't answer any of my owls. His mother had wanted him to honor the contract with Astoria, and I ceased to exist." Hermione whispered.

Blaise knew all of this, he had always known what happened between his ex best friend and his ex wife. He was the only one who knew.

"He broke my heart, you mended it back together and loved my daughter like she was your own." Hermione smiled sadly at her ex husband, "What happened between us? Why did we divorce?"

Blaise kissed her again and sighed. "Because you are still in love with _him_ and while I love you, our children and our lives; You don't love me the way I deserve."

"I do love you Blaise." Hermione told him, "I love you so very much. You are my best friend, but I know you're right. You deserve to be loved with a whole heart, not a hollow one. But, I think you're wrong, I'm not _in_ love with him. I just never got over the love I felt for him. Never think that I didn't love you as well." With one more kiss and a hug, they walked over to their friends and their children.

The Zabini family said goodbye to their daughter as Draco Malfoy watched. His own son had already boarded the train and his wife had left with her sister for brunch; not even waiting for the train to depart the station. _That woman_ , he thought bitterly. How he loathed his wife, wished from the beginning that he never had married her; that it had been someone else that walked down the aisle to his side. That he had the guts to marry who made him happy, not who made a proper pureblood match. The truth was, there was only one woman he had ever been happy with and she was never an option.

 **OoOoO**

Leaving the train station, after the express was safely out of sight; Draco Malfoy couldn't help but keep thinking about Blaise and Herm- _no_ , he thought to himself, _not_ _Hermione, not anymore. It's Granger. Don't get familiar again._ He scolded himself as he walked through the train terminal.

Normally Draco would have just apparated home, but he needed a walk to clear his head. He had seen Hermione tear up as the train left the station. Cassie had opened the train window and almost fell out. She might have too, if one of the Potter boys didn't haul her back in.

Blaise just laughed as his son, Marco, ran alongside the train with the Potter girl and the Weasley boy -the red hair gave it all away- as they shouted their last goodbyes to their siblings.

Draco watched as Hermione turned and hugged her ex-husband and sobbed as her daughter left for school.

Ever the gentleman, Blaise just shushed her and smoothed out her hair in comfort as her friends laughed at how silly she was being.

Draco couldn't help but watch the little family, feeling a pang of heartache. Heartache he wasn't allowed to have anymore, a feeling he thought he buried twelve years ago when he made his choice.

Even as he walked out the station, he couldn't get the little girl out of his head. She had grey eyes, she had dark blond hair. The little boy, Marco, he had a nice deep tan and blue eyes, he looked just like his father.

Cassie, she looked like her mother, but she also reminded him of… Draco couldn't bare to think it- _Why wouldn't she tell me? Why would she run off with Blaise, get married and raise her away from me?_

Draco knew the answer to that question even before it finished forming in his head. She even named her after his family's tradition; _Cassiopeia_. She didn't tell him because of Astoria. His mother made him fulfill that damned contract. He was still a coward and did what was expected of him and not what made him happy. Looking down at his wedding band, he sighed; _Guess things haven't changed much for myself._

 **A/N: I have had several people message me and ask why Blaise call's Hermione _Cara_ in some scenes. This is an Italian term of endearment, it simply means Dear. I have used it a few times in other fics so I might have forgotten to include what it means in this one, but there it is. I hope you enjoyed the first chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:**

 **I own nothing but the plot.**

 **A/N: I am thrilled that this has had such a great beginning. I had hopes for everyone to enjoy this, I always see stories where she passes the child off as Ron's (sometimes unknowingly) and that would be fairly easy to do because they are all the same race. But I have always wondered about if she married someone else. Blaise was a great choice and I wanted it to be someone that Draco was close with because I never wanted the child to feel like they were not as loved as any other children in the home because the father was not her "Biological" father. Having it be a friend of Draco's made that connection where a bond could form between father and daughter.**

 **There was a review from the first chapter that I would love to address, FeistyKitten2001 mentioned that she loved the dynamic of Hermione's and Blaise's relationship. That they are still loving to** **one another even though they are divorced. The reason I wanted to write that they are still a loving family is because essentially, they will always be a family. In today's world there are a lot of families that are blended. Most children have step parents who love them as well as biological parents that love them. But most are not so lucky to have parents that love them enough to be civil and friendly towards each other. Blaise and Hermione have the most open and honest relationship I can give them. They are best friends and co-parents before anything else. The love they have for their friendship (which developed because of the love they have for their children and especially the unconditional love that Blaise gives his daughter) and their family is one of familial love. They want the best for their family and their former spouses. They love each other enough for them to want each other to find a love they deserve. I hope that makes sense.**

 **Thank you to AvisBlue once again for taking the time to rebeta this work for me and to Grapette513 for going through it the first time around.**

 **Love and Slyther,**

 **Gimi aka Jess**

 **OoOoO**

What a lot of people didn't know was that Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger used to be friends. They were in all the same classes, being first and second of their year in grades. They had worked very well as a team.

After the war, there was so much mistrust for Slytherins; especially for Draco as he was a former Death Eater. But Hermione and oddly enough Harry, both became friendly to him after the war. They seemed to form an unspoken bond with the blond.

Harry and Draco never became great friends, but they were not openly hostile either.

Hermione though, she would go out of her way to make sure everyone knew she forgave him for his past. That meant the world to him then and still did to this day. Having someone that did not define him by his past, even if that someone should hate him because of it.

Draco stood with his hands shoved into his pockets as he walked down the pavement toward the exit of the platform. He glanced up at the sky casting back on memories he's not thought of in a long time...

 _His father had been sent to Azkaban; there would not be any denying that he was in fact one of Moldy Voldy's top lackeys. Draco's mother had been placed on house arrest for a year and magical probation for three for aiding in the war._

 _However, her sentence was reduced to house arrest for 6 months and a year of magical probation because of Potter's testimony that she had helped him when he needed her the most in the forest._

 _Draco was sure he would be sent Azkaban, in an adjoining cell right next to father dearest. He was a Death Eater afterall. The mark had faded considerably after Moldy died -12 years later it was completely gone, all the dark magic leaked out and faded away- but it was still visible. He was sure that it was coming. He remembered sitting there, in the middle of the Wizengamot floor, chains holding him to the chair -like he was going to run away-, dirty and grimy from his cell. He braced himself for the verdict. Then he heard the doors open, turning slightly in his chair, that was when he saw them; Harry Bloody Potter and his sidekick Hermione Bookworm Granger._

 _Draco had inwardly groaned when he saw them. He had never been very nice to the Golden Trio, as they were now known. He had always went out of his way to make them feel inferior and to make fun of them: I'm going to be in Azkaban for life…Unless they decide to just give me the kiss. Probably why Potter and Granger are here, make sure I get the kiss, he thought darkly. He slumped down in his chair feeling, if possible, more defeated than before when something odd happened. Harry Potter and Hermione Granger walked right up beside his chair and each put an hand on his shoulder._

 _Draco remembered looking up confused. Hermione looked down at him with a look of sadness in her eyes and gave him a half smile, as Potter began speaking next to him._

 _Draco knew he should have been listening to Potter. He needed to be sure he wasn't telling the Wizengamot the time he wished Granger dead, or tried to get the hippogriff of the oaf's killed._

 _He knew he should be listening to Potter, but he couldn't turn away from Granger. She was openly crying, as she caressed his shoulder, trying to convey warmth to him. Why was she doing that? Why come to the court proceedings of a known Death Eater and give him kindness? It was such a Gryffindor thing to do. Brave the big bad Death Eater and forgive him all his transgressions, even though he watched her get tortured. Oh Merlin, he watched her get tortured! He didn't try and stop his psycho bitch aunt from carving her up like a Sunday roast._

 _"Miss Granger." Minister Kingsley's deep tone pulled Draco out of his reverie. "Do you have anything to add to what Mr. Potter has brought to our attention?"_

 _Hermione brought her hands to her face and wiped away the tears; giving Draco one last smile, she gave her attention to the witches and wizards sitting before her._

 _Then she began to speak; finally, Draco paid attention to the court proceedings once again. He hadn't heard Potter speak, he didn't even realize that Potter still had a hand on his shoulder, that he was showing clear support for the Malfoy heir._

 _He listened to Hermione express her life at Hogwarts, how Draco Malfoy was clearly a problem and a right pain in her ass from the start. One of the witches interrupted the younger witch, asking if she was sure she knew what she was talking about. Was she there to support incarceration or if she was speaking on his behalf?_

 _Hermione, clearly unhappy with being told that she was confused, continued on about what life was like. Draco, hearing all that he had done over the eight years they had been classmates began to feel something heavy in the pit of his stomach. He should have known she was condemning him. He must have read the signs wrong. He was a right git to her and her friends, they were probably there to make sure he would rot._

 _Then things took a turn for him. She began to speak of 6th year. How Draco had started out the year; still the same cocky asshole (yes, she used that word, the gasps around the gallery could be heard for ages. Draco was sure he saw a glint of a smile on the minister's mouth), but there wasn't the same venom to his insults. He had stopped calling her Mudblood - Draco remembered actually cringing at the mention of the insult-, he had stopped eating, sleeping, and even talking in class. The last part should have tipped everyone off, since Draco Malfoy loved to hear his own voice._

 _This was the year of the near fatal accidents: The necklace,_

 _and the poison. These things did happen and Draco was the cause of them, but these were not acts of the second brightest student in the school. Draco was much smarter than that; she was sure he could have thought of a better way to get to Dumbledore if he really tried. Yes, he let the Death Eaters into the castle, but not because he had wanted to, because he had no choice._

 _"How do you know he had no choice," Madam Longbottom questioned. "How do you know, it wasn't intentional?"_

 _"I can submit my memories as evidence." Potter offered, "I was up on the Astronomy Tower with Dumbledore that night, I was under my invisibility cloak when Draco came up. I had been hit with a body bind curse Dumbledore threw at me to keep me safe. I saw Malfoy's reaction. He was desperate. He was the only thing keeping his mother alive. His father was in prison and there were Death Eaters in his home. They lost status with Lucius' incarceration. Voldemort was planning on punishing the Malfoys with Draco's death. He was never meant to live through that night."_

 _Hermione had put her hand back on his shoulder. He never realized; but a lot of the gallery of witches and wizards had taken notice. He did not flinch when the muggleborn witch would touch him. A move that most of them were sure he would have done. She continued on about how he recognized them, and she knew that he recognized that it was them when they were brought to his home during Easter._

 _She knew that he kept them alive for a bit longer by not telling his father. The Father he longed for approval from. They had caught Harry Potter. She also knew he was an accomplished dueler, even surprised, he would have been able to retain his wand in a duel, but he let his wand be won. She even knew that he had regretted bringing in his idiot friends into the room of requirement that night during the final battle. He was just after his wand, he didn't care about the rest of it. He even tried to stop his friends from using unforgivables on Harry._

 _"Does that seem like actions of a man who wanted to be a Death Eater?" she finished her speech, "For me, it sounds more like a boy who desperately wanted his father's approval. Who grew up one way and was expected to live that way. The teasing that I endured at the hands of Draco Malfoy was that of a child bully. His later behavior was that of a boy looking for his way in the world. A world his father demanded he be apart of, then of a boy who was desperate, not wanting to be apart of that world. He realized what it took to be apart of his father's world. I think he realized that his father, the noble Lord Malfoy, was nothing but a bigot. He saw him as his father, we see our parents through selective lights when we worship them. Draco has had a hard life, it doesn't seem like it because we would like to believe that money solves everything. Anyone with money should have everything they need or desire but that isn't always the case. Draco Malfoy didn't have what he wanted most in the world, the approval of his father. Don't punish the child for the errors of his father."_

 _"He let Death Eaters into Hogwarts! He led to Dumbledore's death!" An irate member of the Wizengamot shouted from the back._

 _Harry looked up with a sneer. "I would like to know what you expected him to do? His father in Azkaban, his home overtaken by Voldemort, his and his mother's life in constant danger. I happen to know Severus Snape left his memories of counsel with Draco, I know what they said. Yes, he portrayed the proud pureblood, eager to serve his Lord. However, I also saw his eyes when he would look at his mother, when he was desperate to get to Dumbledore, when I, myself, caught him in the bathroom full of anxiety over what he had done. He was a child, we are all children. I have not had a chance to actually grow up and be teen because I had to fight in a war. Does anyone realize that the Final Battle at Hogwarts was primarily fought by children? That we were barely able to understand what we wanted to be as adults when we were thrust upon this old war that I have been fighting my entire life? You want to hold someone responsible for Draco Malfoy's actions? How about the adults who were responsible for him? He was barely sixteen when he took the mark? We were children, fighting a war that I know for a fact only a handful of you were fighting with us. Hermione and I are here today to stop this insanity. You want to send this boy to prison for things he couldn't help doing. It isn't right, I will have no choice but to make sure everyone knows we don't believe this is right."_

 _"Harry," Hermione spoke up again. "We have an interview to do soon. We're nearly late. I don't think Rita will mind, but we should be good little war heroes and not keep the woman waiting." She looked up at the minister and the panel. "Sorry, we have to run. Rita has been itching to get her hands on Harry again, find out about our year on the run, our take on the proceedings, how we now view the government. We must dash."_

 _Draco gaped at the brave little Gryffindor, had she just blackmailed the Wizengamot? No, she couldn't have. That would be insane, to blackmail the Wizengamot over me._

 _Harry nodded in agreement, "You're right Hermione, we should go. I know we promised her an exclusive about how we view the treatment of our peers; how it was to fight in a war that grown men sat around and twiddled their thumbs over-"_

 _"Are you blackmailing the Wizengamot, Potter?" The same member screamed out in outrage. "Is that what you are trying to do? An eighteen year old child, blackmailing us?"_

 _Hermione laughed. "You are trying to hang Draco Malfoy on the fact that he is of age and knew with full intention what he was doing at the age of sixteen." She spat back at them, "But as soon as Harry and I mention the press and an interview, suddenly we're children? You can't have it both ways, we can't be adults when it fits your agenda; to fight in your war and children when you don't like what we have to say." Hermione scratched her head in impatience, "Draco Malfoy can not be held accountable for taking the mark, he was underage at the time. He let the Death Eaters into Hogwarts under duress and the possible murder of the only family that he loves. He also helped Harry and myself as well as Ronald Weasley by not turning us in and by keeping his associates from using unforgivable curses in the Room of Requirement."_

 _"You go too far Hermione," Minister Kingsley finally spoke up, he knew full well she was blackmailing them, but needed her to stop before she said the actual words._

 _"No Minister," Hermione said firmly, "I go just far enough. You can try and silence Harry and I, but I'm sure I can find a way around it. I am the Brightest Witch in a century, I helped Harry figure out what the horcruxes were and where they were; we came up with a plan to break into Gringotts and escaped on a motherfucking dragon!" she held her hands out extravagantly, "As well as the ministry when I was the second most wanted person in the wizarding world; only beat out by Harry here. I think I can figure out the loopholes. Draco Malfoy is innocent. Good day Gentlemen and ladies. Harry, we must run. Rita is going to be up in arms and then we still have that interview with Luna and I believe Witch Weekly wants to run a special edition on you. You know how much they love you, 'The Savior' and all." With a final squeeze of Draco's shoulder, she and Harry waved and walked out of the courtroom with their heads held high, not even looking when Kingsley counted the votes and released Draco. He was cleared of all charges, all because a Muggleborn Witch blackmailed an entire courtroom full of old fools._


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I'm glad everyone is still enjoying the story. The first few chapters are a bit of backstory as I'm sure everyone is wondering what happened in their past, how did Hermione come to marry Blaise but have Draco's baby. Cassie will be coming back into the story, but since she's at school, we deal with adults first. I also don't anticipate having her POV in the story. This is mainly a story about her parents and their relationships past and present. She is a product of those relationships, but as she is removed, her POV is not an issue right now. I may think of doing a sequel about her and her brothers at a later date, depending on if I can figure out a storyline for it.**

Hermione was not the slag everyone had painted her out to be. Yes, Cassie was not her ex-husband's child, that was not a secret. Blaise knew who the father was because he was the only one who knew about Hermione's and Draco's relationship their 8th year (technically their 7th year redo). She hadn't meant to fall in love with the blond git. She stood up for him during his trial because it was the right thing to do and Hermione Granger always did what is right.

No _love,_ was never on her mind during school that year. All she wanted to do was finish Hogwarts and figure out her life, but love has an uncanny way of blooming whenever it wishes. What started off as a friendship of sorts between the head girl and the former Death Eater soon turned into steamy sessions in the library or her private room. Not at all stupid, Blaise soon found out about his best friend and the Gryffindor Princess. But as his friend was happy for the first time in his life, Blaise encouraged him to see where it would lead.

Where it led was six months of happiness for both boy and girl. They spent almost every moment together, even choosing to stay at school during the Christmas holidays. Blaise had never seen Draco so utterly happy and free. He was grateful that Hermione gave that to his friend. After the years of torment Draco had inflicted upon her, she still loved him enough to forgive him.

Then Draco was called home for the Easter holidays and that was when their bubble burst. When the school term resumed, Draco broke her heart. He told her he never loved her. He was only using her, and it wasn't his fault if she was too blinded by love to see that. He told her he was getting married to a pureblood. There was no future between them and she would be wise to forget his name. Blaise, had not known what happened when Hermione ran into him while he was on patrol. Tears streaming down her face, she pushed past him and onto the grounds. Following her, to make sure she didn't hurt herself he used muffliato around them. He watched her rage, sob, scream and collapse in a heap in front of the moonlit lake. Sitting down next to the spent Gryffindor, he brought a hand down and smoothed her hair, whispering words of comfort to soothe her. When she finally calmed down, he picked her up bridal style and brought her back to her dorm and stayed with her in the common room until morning.

After the break up, he spent more and more time with Hermione, sneaking into her dorm at night because that was when she needed him the most. He would sit with her, hold her as she cried, soothing her back to calm. When The Prophet announced two weeks later Draco's and Astoria's engagement and impending wedding to take place over the summer, Blaise brought over a bottle of firewhiskey and he got drunk. He had brought it for her to drink with him, but that was when he found out about the pregnancy. Hermione was eight weeks pregnant with his best friend's baby. She had found out over the Easter holidays and wanted to tell him when he came back. They had talked about their future and she thought he would be scared but happy. Then he came back and shattered her heart. Draco still didn't know he was to be a dad. Hermione wasn't going to tell him. He made it clear he wanted a life without her, so he could have it.

After finding out about the baby, Blaise couldn't go back to being Draco's friend. Not the way they were before. Luckily being a prefect, he had his own dorm so running into him every night wasn't an issue. Not that he slept in the dungeons anymore. More nights than not, he was staying with Hermione. She needed him more than Draco did.

By the end of term, Blaise realized that he was in love with Hermione and she had fallen for him as well. By the time they left for home, he had brought her to meet his mother and proposed almost immediately. He had found a job in the states and she was having a baby. They could start a new life together and raise the baby as a family. At first she said no, she wouldn't saddle him with a child that wasn't his. She would go to America with him, but there was no need to get married. She could take care of herself. He convinced her that while he knew she could, he still wanted to be responsible for his friend's child the way the baby would need. He wanted to be the baby's father, not just an uncle. He loved them both already. Being a smooth talking Slytherin, she agreed and never regretted her choice.

Being back in London brought back memories for Hermione, happy ones of course of friends and family and not so happy of heartache. She had grown to love New York. Her children missed it, and it was a different world in the States than it was back in England. She felt freer in New York. In England, she knew what people were saying about her family.

 _Their daughter looks nothing like the father…_

 _The Golden Girl is back, her halo is a little tarnished though…_

 _That little girl isn't a Zabini, who are they trying to fool…_

 _I wonder who she slagged around with…_

 _She tricked Blaise into marrying her…_

"Oh for the love of Merlin!" Hermione hissed. She was suppose to be having lunch with Blaise at a local wizarding pub to discuss the kids and business matters. While waiting for her ex-husband, she could hear people whispering about her as she read some notes she was working on. Rolling her eyes, she took a sip of her wine.

"You know, he could do better than you." A voice carried from a neighboring table. Hermione looked up and saw two former Slytherins having lunch. One was none other than Astoria Malfoy.

Raising an eyebrow, Hermione took another sip of her wine and ignoring the Slytherins went back to her work.

"Did you hear me? You don't deserve Blaise Zabini." Astoria's lunch companion, her sister… maybe, Hermione wasn't sure, spat at her. Other tables were now eavesdropping on their conversation.

Hermione looked up with a cool expression she had gotten from her mother in law. Eyes narrowed and chin up, she said, "Yes I did, but my question to you is, who are you? Why are you talking to me?"

"How dare you!" The woman screamed in outrage. "You tricked him into marrying you, you filthy slag!"

Hermione saw Blaise walk through the door, confused as to why the pub was so quiet. Hermione smirked at him, "Blaise, honey." Hermione purred, Blaise chuckled, nothing good came from his ex purring. "Um, someone has got something desperate to tell you." She gestured toward the openly weeping blonde.

"Blaise, how could you marry her?" The woman sobbed, Astoria was looking decidedly uncomfortable at the whole affair. "She cheated on and tricked you."

Hermione snorted into her wine glass in amusement. "Actually Daphne." Blaise started.

"That's your name!" Hermione proclaimed, "I knew I should have known it. All you Slytherslags looked the same, except for Parkinson. Must be all the inbreeding. This is Daphne, Blaise? That's why she's so upset."

Blaise rolled his eyes as a small smattering of people around them began to chuckle at Hermione's revelation. "She didn't trick me into anything. I know everything I need to know about my wife. Which is that I love her, and she's my best friend."

"I thought you were divorced?" Astoria wondered.

Blaise smiled his perfect smile. "We are, but we share children. We will always be connected. I will always love her as the mother of my children, and that will never change. Plus we're business partners."

"You gave her half your business?" Daphne gasped, "Blaise, what has she done to you? She only wants you for your money!"

With this Hermione spit out her wine and laughed. "I want Blaise for his money? Darling, what will everyone think? When they find out that the money we invest isn't from the Zabini estate, but my own? Their 'Gold Digger' thoughts shall vanish and then what will the gossip about?"

Blaise shook his head. "Hermione hasn't got a single knut of the Zabini money. In the divorce, the money she would have gotten has gone back to the children's inheritance. We have an investment company which we started with her award settlement from the war. We started investing when we moved and have had a great deal of success because my _ex_ -wife is rather brilliant."

Hermione finished her wine and stood up. "Yes Blaise, Love. You are still the pretty one in our lives. Well, after Cassie and Marco. Now Love, let's go elsewhere to eat? This place has suddenly become unappetizing."

Blaise nodded and offered Hermione his arm. Turning to Astoria and Daphne; the latter still sobbing uncontrollably, the former completely embarrassed by her sister's complete meltdown. "Mrs. Malfoy, Mrs. Goyle, have a good day."

Hermione gasped. "She married Goyle? Poor bloke, she's completely nutters." She whispered loudly as they exited the pub. Blaise chuckled at his ex-wife, she had certainly developed that New York edge in the thirteen years they lived there. No longer was she quiet, the city had brought out the brave in her even further.

"Daphne still upset you broke up with her." It was not a question. "She's really beautiful, incredibly crazy, but beautiful." Hermione conversed as they walked up Diagon Alley to another restaurant.

Blaise chuckled. "I never broke up with her." He corrected, "I was never dating her, she fancied me. Draco got engaged to Astoria and I was his best friend so what better than for the sister to marry the best friend? But I never cared for Daphne, she's too bloody dramatic."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Obviously, the woman accused me of tricking you into marrying me. Like there is a chance in hell you could confuse Cassie as your biological daughter."

"Sweetheart, we know what happened. As long as we know, no one else matters." Blaise confirmed, "Even Cassie knows, she's strong. You know it won't bother her in the slightest if anyone makes fun of her. She's your daughter after all. She's not afraid to hex first and since she's a Gryffindor, she knows not to get caught." Blaise smirked. "I can't believe you told her to ask not to be in Slytherin."

Hermione laughed. "You know they would have teased her more. Besides, a little distance from the Malfoy boy will do her some good. Did you know she owled Ginny and asked her how to cast the bat bogey hex? That was always Ginny's specialty. "

Blaise began to laugh as the sat at their table. "I can't believe you would approve of our daughter hexing other students. What kind of ex-head girl are you?" He teased.

Hermione smirked. "The kind that brewed polyjuice potion in a girl's bathroom in second year, helped an innocent convicted murderer escape on a hippogriff and had that awful Umbridge woman hauled off by centaurs in fifth year. Though, that last one was a bit of a lark. I was actually trying to get to Hagrid's half brother Grawp so he could help us, but the centaurs intercepted us." Hermione grinned evilly at Blaise.

Blaise chuckled as she reminisced. "I should have known you'd mention all those. You really would have made the perfect Slytherin, Cara." Hermione laughed as they began to discuss their children and business over their lunch.

OoOoO

In his office of his company, Draco Malfoy was distracted from his own lunch he was having with Theo Nott. He just couldn't get Hermione and her daughter out of his head. Meanwhile his wife's dippy sister came storming in, and Astoria sauntered in after her looking rather bored.

"I can't believe that common slag! How does he not see that she's using him!" Daphne Goyle nee Greengrass ranted. "She doesn't deserve him! He should have married me, I would have taken care of him!" Daphne was pacing the floor of the office like she owned the building.

Draco, who was not in the mood for his wife or her ridiculous sister sat back in his leather office chair and entwined his fingers on his stomach waiting for the bint to shut up. Theo, who was equally amused embodied a similar gait just looked over at Draco and grinned.

Funny enough, it was Astoria who spoke up first. "Sweet Circe Daph! You're married! He was never interested in you! He would have married a Hufflepuff before he married you! Give it a rest, I can't believe I have spent all this time listening to this same rant over some stupid muggleborn!"

"She tricked him! She fed him a love potion, or imperio'd him or… or…"Daphne was out of words. Draco was surprised. He didn't believe she was smart enough to know that many ways to manipulate a person. She actually had more brains than he gave her credit for.

"Astoria, what are you doing here?" Draco finally spoke. Looking over at a confused and red Daphne. "More importantly, why is _she_ here looking like she just burst a blood vessel in her brain. Daph, stop thinking so hard, you will hurt yourself dear. Gods, your husband looks like the great Slytherin himself compared to you. Who would have thought Goyle would be the smart one in your family," he drawled looking at the woman with a smirk.

Daphne burst into tears while Astoria gasped in indignation and Theo guffawed.

"She tricked him Stori!" Daphne sobbed. "He loved me and she tricked him! That little bastard looks nothing like him! She's got pale complexion and blonde hair for Salazar's Sake! He's dark and Italian! That is not his child!"

"Bloody hell Stori," Draco groaned. "What the fuck is she on about?"

"Blaise Zabini," Astoria Malfoy answered her husband. "We ran into him and his ex-wife while we were at lunch. Daphne had a spat with the Former Mrs. Zabini. You know how she always fancied him."

"I loved him." Daphne sniffled into a hanky she had in her lap, tears flowing freely, her makeup running down in droves down her face. "I loved him and we were to be married. But she tricked him, got herself pregnant by some Mudblood probably and told him it was his so he'd have to marry her. I'm telling you, he would never choose her over me. I'm a Greengrass. I'm one of the Sacred 28. I'm practically royalty and he gets married to a _Mudblood_."

Draco pinched the bridge of his nose in aggravation. "Are you telling me, you stormed into my office during my lunch hour to tell me that Zabini is under a love potion because he supposedly _loved_ you?" Daphne nodded earnestly. Draco and Theo both scoffed. "Daphne you are a bloody idiot! You are even dumber than I thought."

Daphne opened her mouth to shout her outrage at her brother in law, but the look on his face had her shut it again. "Get this through your fucking head. Blaise was _NEVER_ in love with you. He couldn't stand you. The only reason he ever spoke to you was because you were an easy shag. Easier than Pansy even." Theo bristled at that comment about his wife, but Draco ignored him and continued. Everyone knew that Pansy had a past. "You were never going to be Mrs. Zabini. He would have married Goyle before he would have thought to marry you. And don't use that word in my presence again. I've told you this before. I don't want my family associated with that kind of prejudice again."

"You approve of their marriage?" Daphne shrilled. "She is below him. She made him raise another man's bastard."

"STOP CALLING HER THAT." Draco bellowed. He shot out of his chair and Daphne jumped in alarm. "She is a little girl, not a bastard. Obviously he didn't care that she doesn't look like 'd be stupid to think that was his I know Blaise, I've known him since we were in nappies. He wouldn't raise another man's child if he didn't love the mother. He wouldn't have looked twice at her if she were pregnant and it wasn't his child. They weren't hiding it at all, so it must not be a secret in their family."

"Why are you so defensive Draco?" His wife inquired with a look of confusion on her face.

"Astoria, if it wasn't for her and Potter, I would be in Azkaban. They are the only two people to come to my mother and my defense. I appreciate my freedom and a Malfoy always pays his debts. That is why I work so hard to change the Malfoy image. I will not have Daphne besmirching Granger, because it is a reflection on you, which is a reflection on me. I don't give a shit what you think privately, Daphne. But you will never cause an outburst against Hermione Granger or her family in public again."

"Blaise loves her alright, still does." Theo said with a knowing look.

Draco looked at him puzzled. "How do you know?"

Theo shrugged, "Pansy and I had dinner with him last night. They divorced not because they don't love each other, but because they do. He knew she loved him and that she was happy, but there was something missing. Since the kids are getting older, it was becoming more apparent. He wants her to be happy, just as she wants him to be."

Draco sat on Theo's words for a few minutes, forgetting the two women were in the room. Something was missing in their marriage.

"They are fairly close for being a divorced couple." Astoria mused. "I have never seen an ex-husband who doted on his ex-wife. Though, there aren't many divorced witches and wizards in England are there? Must be something they do in America. I wonder why they moved back."

"Oh, Blaise still lives part time in New York. They have a company based out there that he oversees." Theo conversed. "Granger and the kids came home because her mother is sick or something. However, she has started investing here as well. I actually have a meeting with the two of them tomorrow evening. I must say, she is still the brightest witch of the age. She had invested her war rewards and has made back multiple times over. Pansy and I were very impressed."

"You are going to let them invest your galleons?" Daphne spoke again. Anger seeping through her words. "Why would you do that?! She isn't fit to touch your galleons."

"Daphne, you are an idiot." Theo spat, obviously as tired of the blonde as Draco was. "I don't care who touches my galleons as long as it makes more galleons in their place. Do yourself a favor and shut up. Go home and kiss your husband. You're lucky that Goyle loves you, because no one else would have you."

"Astoria, get her out of here." Draco groaned, he was getting a headache. "Get her out and I don't want to see her around my building ever again. I'll make sure she isn't allowed on premises and if you are with her, you won't be allowed either. She's given me a headache."

"But Draco..." Daphne started.

Draco stood up and bellowed, "GET THE FUCK OUT BEFORE I REALLY GET ANGRY." And the door flung open. The staff sitting at their desks all looked curiously as the two women scurried towards the lifts. Daphne was sobbing again and Astoria just looked angry towards her sister. Draco would be impossible now and it was all Daphne's fault. _I should hex her_ , Astoria thought, but shrugged the thought away. She really didn't care if Draco was upset. She didn't much like her husband anymore than he liked her. It was a typical pureblood marriage. They tolerated each other and that was all.

OoOoO

 **A/N: Edited by Claireabellalou and Grapette513**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I own nothing, it all belongs to JK. Rowling.**

 **A/N: Hello everyone, this chapter is where it all opens up. The cat is out of the bag and when the shit starts to hit the fan. This has been a great experience writing this fic and I am still so thankful that people actually want to read it. So here it is. Thanks again to my wonderful beta,** **Grapette513 for all the help with the fic.**

 **Love,**

 **Gimi aka Jess**

 **OoOoO**

A week later and Hermione found herself sitting in her office that she shared with Blaise waiting on her lunch meeting. To be honest, she was a bit nervous. She wasn't expecting to walk into their office and for her secretary to let her know that Draco Malfoy had scheduled a meeting with her for lunch. Seeing as this was probably the conversation that she knew was coming, she had told Blaise when he came in.

Worried for his ex-wife, he was going to stay for their lunch, but Hermione gave him a hug and told him to go to lunch.

"You told me it was time to talk to him. I can't do that with you here." She pointed out.

"I know Love, but I worry. I don't want you to get hurt by what he might say." Blaise said with concern laced in his words.

Hermione smiled, "I can handle Draco Malfoy. You better watch it. You are showing more emotions Mr. Slytherin and your inner Hufflepuff is peaking through. Susan must be rubbing off on you." She teased, she had heard about the few dates her ex-husband had had with Susan Bones.

Blaise laughed, "I have no inner Hufflepuff. It's what happens being married to a sodding Gryffindor for twelve years."

Hermione scoffed lightly with a smile, "Please, you were always very in tune with emotions. It's how you won me over in the first place. I couldn't believe a snake could be so caring…so well…you know what I mean."

Blaise kissed her forehead and she sighed. That was her comfort for so many years. "I know what you mean. If you are sure you will be ok, I will go to lunch. But I will be back early."

Hermione hugged him tight and smiled. "Thank you Blaise, but go to lunch with Susan. Don't cut it short because of me. You deserve to come first for once in our lives. You have always put me and children first, but now it's your turn."

With one last squeeze he left the office and Hermione sat back at her desk, and looked at the pictures on her desk. Her family looked very different these days, but still she wouldn't change a thing. Her life with Blaise, their love and now friendship, but most of all their children. It all stemmed from what happened all those years ago. Going through it was the worst pain imaginable, but she would do it again if she had to. Picking up a photo of her and Cassie, she watched with a smile as the photo images made faces at each other, then up at her before laughing merrily. She could see so much of Draco in Cassie. The eyes, the pale skin, the blonde hair, they were all dead giveaways. But there were other things and traits she inherited from her father. The way she sneers when mad, the way her face gets sharper when she holds her head up, even her smile, these are all Draco. She does get her curls, her inquisitive nature, sense of right and wrong and her brains from her mother. Her mischievous nature comes from Blaise and her uncles. Hermione grinned at the thought of when her daughter had gotten into some hair potion and turned her brother's hair neon purple while he slept the year before. With purple hands, she adamantly insisted he did it himself and turned her hands purple because he was trying to get her in trouble. Blaise and Hermione had laughed about that for a , they both knew she had done it with help from her Uncle George.

Hermione was lucky that her friends had never left her, even though she had gotten pregnant in school. Harry and Ron never deserted her while she was pregnant. At first they were mad. Ron thought Blaise had imperiused her to marry him. That he had gotten her pregnant and was just using her. Then Cassie was born and obviously not Blaise's. Then they saw how much Blaise loved Hermione, loved her daughter and they slowly began to accept Blaise. The entire Weasley family loved her and by extension, Blaise. They figured out who the father was, hard not to. Not too many pale, blonde, grey eyed guys at Hogwarts.

Hermione was lost in her thoughts when there was a knock at her open door. Startled, she jumped slightly and blushed. Draco Malfoy was standing at her door with a bag that smelled like Pub food.

"Draco, come in." Hermione stood up and gestured to a chair in front of her desk.

"I hope you don't mind, but I picked up some food. Since this was during lunch, I figured we would need some." Draco said, a bit nervous. He hadn't been this close or alone with Hermione since they broke up at Hogwarts. It had been years, but he still marveled at how beautiful she was.

"No it's fine, thanks. I hadn't thought about what to get for lunch." Hermione mentioned. "You've saved me the trouble of having Blaise bring me back something."

"Where is Blaise?" Draco inquired. "I thought he'd want to be here while we met."

"Oh he did." Hermione agreed. "But I told him to go. He had a lunch date with Susan Bones. I didn't want him to miss it."

"Your husband had a date and you encouraged him to go?" Draco said incredulously as he started to unpack the bag of food. Setting out salad, plus fish and chips for them both.

Hermione laughed as he handed her the container of food. "Blaise isn't my husband. He's my ex husband and of course I did. I set him up. Mmm, I haven't had this in ages." She said as she opened the container and sniffed deeply, she can almost smell the grease.

"You set him up?" Draco asked surprised.. "It was your favorite," he added turning pink at the fact that he remembered what she liked to eat even after all this time.

"Yes, I think she's marvelous and Marco likes her. She's very pretty and a wonderful mum. She has a son, her husband just passed away last year." Hermione said as she took a bite of her food and moaned out of appreciation. The noise she made, brought Draco back to their days at school and he gulped as she addressed his previous statement, "It was my favorite, but it isn't something we eat very often. You just can't find good fish and chips in America." They sat there for a bit, just eating and talking about random bits of their lives. Not delving into the real reason for the meeting until they were done eating.

After they finished their lunches, Hermione looked up at Draco and waited. He was the one who wanted to visit after all.

"Hermione, why did you marry Blaise?"

"I loved him." She said simply. "He took care of me, you know. No one knew about our relationship, none of my friends. He was the only one and he found me after it happened. He found me at my worst moments in life and he never left me. He asked me to marry him about a week after we left Hogwarts. We had spent it with my family, and with his mother. We got married in the Zabini garden later that month. Just us, our parents and the officiant. We left for New York three days later."

Draco grimaced as she spoke. He knew it was true. He remembered seeing her at school after he broke it off. She was a wreck. She didn't eat in the Great Hall, instead always in her dorm. She only went to the library and classes, no where else. Draco had known she took it , he took it bad. But he had to do it for his family, for her.

"Hermione, why did you name her Cassiopeia?"

"You know why Draco." Hermione responded. "You know why I would name my daughter that. You know, so don't play dumb. Blaise told me to tell you, but you were getting married. You weren't talking to me at all. So, there was no point. I did end up writing you a letter, after we left Hogwarts. I did think you should have known that you were going to be a father. Hell, I wrote you about fifteen letters, and I got them all back. I got them all back along with a letter saying to stop writing you, that you never loved me and don't care what I had to say in my letters. You never opened them and didn't want them. That you were marrying Astoria, the girl that you loved.

At this Draco scoffed. "What are you talking about? I never received any letters! But didn't you think that information like this deserved a face to face discussion? Love? No pureblood loves their betrothed. I've never loved Astoria. I loathe her. The only good thing that came out of the woman is Scorpius."

"Yes, I did." Hermione yelled. Twelve years of pent up anger and hurt showing for the first time since Cassie's birth. She shot a silencing charm at her door. "I was planning on telling you when you came back to school after Easter, but you had other plans. You broke me Draco, you shattered my soul, my heart, my everything! The only reason I was still eating, and wasn't drinking myself into a stupor was because of Cassie. Because I knew I was pregnant. Gods, I just came out of a war. I was miraculously, still standing and fell in love. I thought I had finally found what it was like to be happy and I was pregnant with your baby."

Tears started flowing down her face at the memories that flooded her mind. Draco paled at the sight. "I was so excited to see you that night and then you came at me like the complete asshole we all know you are. You didn't have the courage to just tell me what was going on. No! You had to break me completely, just kill the Mudblood by twisting the knife a tad deeper into her heart. You don't know how much I just wanted to give up. I had been fighting for years just to be recognized as a witch. I fucking stood by you when you were the one who pushed me down into the mud the furthest. I fucking loved you with everything that was in me! And you bloody well broke me. You might as well pitched me off the Astronomy Tower, for as low as I felt. The only bright spot was Blaise, he knew what I was going through. He knew I loved you. He knew you dumped me and he still stood by me. Blaise and I moved to New York and never looked back."

"I couldn't tell." Draco mumbled.

"What?" Hermione spat back at him.

Draco groaned. "I couldn't tell you! I couldn't tell you what was going on. I couldn't let you down easy. I couldn't just run off with you, which is what I wanted to do. I was dying inside too, you know! I wanted to say no. I wanted to tell them I was in love with you and I wanted to marry you! I even went to see my father in Azkaban to tell him no. I told him that I loved you and would not be marrying Astoria and do you know what he told me? He told me that there were still a lot of Death Eaters free who do not take kindly to muddying the bloodlines. He told me that they would rather the Malfoy line die than to allow a mudblood, the famous Mudblood no less, dirty the line. He was going to have you killed Hermione! I couldn't let that happen. He was going to have me killed. Knowing my crazy father, they would have made me watch as they tortured and raped you." Draco took a deep breath and looked at Hermione, trying to will her to understand his position.

He got up, pacing back and forth before he continued. "He would let them kill me or else let me live with the memories of your gruesome death if I did not get rid of you. I could not let that happen. I would rather you hate me for leaving you then what they would have done to you. I know you. I know you would have stood by me if I told you this because you are stubborn and brave, but I couldn't do it. So yes, I broke up with you in the worst way possible! Yes I knew it would break you, but that doesn't mean it didn't break me too! Then you disappear, even Potter didn't know what happened. He and I were still on speaking terms, but it was just civil really. I couldn't ask him much about you without drawing suspicion."

Hermione processed his words. His father had threatened her life, his life too. That's why he broke up with her. It's why he married Astoria. He was protecting her. She couldn't even argue the point that she would have left him peacefully because they both knew that was a load of hippogriff dung. She would have yelled and screamed that she could take care of herself. She would have been stubborn. Looking back now that would have been a horrible idea since she was pregnant at the time.

"We were never meant to be." She sighed. Draco just stared at her blankly. "What?"

Choosing not to answer he said. "What does Blaise think of Cassie not being his?"

"Cassie is his. He was there while I was pregnant. He was there while I gave birth. He was there when she fell the four feet and broke her wrist because the girl thinks herself a brilliant flyer at the age of four. Cassie loves her Papa. Cassie had a hard time of it. When she found out that Blaise wasn't her biological father. But she was only about four when she really started to notice that she didn't look like her brother or her Papa. It hurt to watch her go through that. But, she is a true daddy's girl. They have a wonderful relationship."

"Stop!" Draco shouted. He couldn't take it anymore. He couldn't hide the jealousy that his daughter was a daddy's girl. Not because Blaise was Cassie's father. Blaise was, at one time, his closest friend. But at the fact that he was not there for his daughter. _His daughter_ , he thought with sense of pride. He had always wanted a daughter, but the thought of having to touch Astoria again turned his stomach so much that they were never intimate unless alcohol was involved.

"I'm sorry, I just can't listen to this, I think I knew from the time I saw her that she was mine, but knowing for sure. I am still wrapping my head around it and hearing about how she loves Blaise. I just can't do it. Hermione, I lost twelve years with her."

"There is nothing I can do about that. I tried to tell you. You didn't want to hear from me."

Hermione reminded him of something the had, until now, forgotten. "Speaking of, what letters? I never got any letters? I never heard from Blaise or you since school."

Hermione sighed and called out. "Peekey!" A loud _Crack_ filled the air and a little house elf dressed in a little sun dress appeared.

"Yes Missus, Ma-am?" The elf squeaked. Draco chuckled at the thought of Hermione 'Save the Elves' Granger having a house elf.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at Draco, "Peekey, can you please go home. In my study desk, the bottom left drawer, there is a box. Please bring me the box. Thank you."

"Yes Missus, Ma-am." And with another _Crack!_ She was gone, but returned quickly with a small box. Hermione smiled and the elf disapparated. Opening the box, Hermione stuck her arm in and began to search. She had an extension charm on the box because her arm was gone up to the elbow in a box that was clearly only about three inches deep. Finding what she was looking for, Draco heard a distinct crash come from the box.

Cursing under her breath, she pulled out a handful of letters and handed them to Draco. "They all came back to me with this."

She handed him another letter addressed to her. From, what had looked like, from him. Sitting back in the chair. He opened that letter first. In his hands, he read a letter stating that he had never loved her, to stop writing. That he was to marry the love of his life and a pureblood." Draco scoffed at that part, he knew where this letter came from and it wasn't from him.

He looked up at Hermione, she looked drained from their talk. He did feel bad for dredging up the past, for making her feel those emotions again. If he was completely honest, those were the same feelings he's been suppressing himself and bringing them back was draining for himself. "Can I take these with me?"

Hermione nodded. "They were meant for you and don't worry. There are no professions of love in them." Draco felt a stab in his heart as he put the letters in his coat pocket.

With a tight smile, he nodded at her. "Can we meet another time to finish this conversation? This was a lot to process in a lunch hour." Hermione nodded and Draco went to open the door.

Sitting at the secretary's desk was Blaise. He must finished his lunch and was waiting for the okay to come back into the office. Draco looked at his former friend, Blaise stood up with a look of concern. He looked past Draco at Hermione, "Is everything okay?" Blaise asked.

Draco, looking his friend in the eye answered. "Yes, everything is fine. Blaise, I-" Draco lost the words he wanted to express. Too many emotions were brought up in such a short amount of time that he just wasn't sure what he wanted to say. Instead he looked back at Hermione and gave her a resigned smile. "I'll owl you when we can talk more." He gave his old friend a nod and left.

Blaise walked over to Hermione and held out his arms as he sat on the edge of her desk. Hermione smiled, stood and hugged him tightly. He began to stroke her hair, like he always did when she needed comfort. She could feel herself relax. The tension of the meeting left her body as her ex-husband and best friend soothed her soul. Just like he always did.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot.**

 **A/N: Hi everyone! I was able to pull it out within the time frame I gave myself. I have been writing Evening with Snakes and I have a start on a Cassie Prequel which I've decided (with some wandlore help) will be snippets into the lives of Hermione and Blaise. From the time that Draco breaks up with her until the time that they move back to England. But here is chapter 5 of Cassie. Oh, this hasn't been beta'd yet (that is how much I love you all) so all mistakes are my own and I apologise. I will be getting it beta'd soon and will repost it with corrections, but I couldn't wait.**

 **I hope you all like it, let me know what you think,**

 **Gimi aka Jess**

 **OoOoOoO**

Narcissa Malfoy was a woman of good breeding. She was the epitome of the pureblood wife and mother. Though her husband was given the kiss a year after the end of the war, she was still a Malfoy _and_ a Black. Her son made a respectable pureblood match and her family was fine. Since Hogwarts had started for her grandson, she had heard rumblings at social gatherings about the Zabini family being back in England.

Eliana Zabini was a dear friend that she lost touch with. She had moved back to Italy after Blaise left for the states but then; missing her son; moved to the states to be close to him and his family. She had written to Narcissa that the family was well. Blaise's wife was brilliant. They had two beautiful children.

Now she was back in England and Narcissa was going over for a late tea. Landing in the Zabini receiving room, Narcissa stepped out of the floo to see Blaise Zabini standing there speaking to his mother.

Upon seeing Narcissa, Blaise smiled, walked over and gave her a small hug.

"Why Blaise." Narcissa cried in surprise, "I had no idea you would be here, are you joining us for tea?"

"No Narcissa, I'm not. I'm here waiting for my family. My ex-wife is meeting me here, we have a meeting this evening. How are you?" Blaise inquired of his old friend's mother.

"I am well, your family should join us for dinner at the manor soon-, oh, but I heard you were divorced. How are you doing?"

Blaise nodded. "We are fine. It was hard at first, trying to co-parent, but my wife and I get along fine. We still work together and spend time together as a family so the children know we are still very close. How is your family?"

"We are all fine. I heard you met my darling Scorpius on the platform? You sent off your own child?"

"Yes." Blaise smiled, "He's a fine boy. My daughter Cassie started as well. She was sorted into Gryffindor like her mother." The floo lit up again and Marco ran out and jumped on Blaise.

"Papa, can I have a broom?" Marco begged, "Please say yes!"

Blaise laughed, "Okay, what did mum say?"

"She said it was okay." Marco yelped rather quickly scanning the room.

"Marco Blaise Zabini." His Grandmother said sternly. Marco gulped. "I happen to know your mother would never say yes to that question right away. What did she really say?"

Marco groaned, "She said maybe."

The floo lit up one more time and Hermione stepped out. Taking out her wand and syphoning off the soot from her clothes. Marco looked at his dad and pleaded him not to tell Hermione what he just asked. Blaise raised an eyebrow and Marco knew he had lost.

Narcissa stood there in slight shock. She had remembered Hermione Granger, though she was not allowed to attend, she had heard all about what happened during her son's trial.

"Mi, did you say that Marco could have a broom?" Blaise asked his ex.

Hermione laughed looking up from her clothes, "Of course not. I've never liked brooms and he's nine, he can wait for a broom. Maybe a child broom."

"Marco!" Blaise said quietly, crouching down so he was eye level with his son. "You told me that mum said yes."

"Well, she did say I could have a child broom, but they only go like four feet in the air. Lily has a real broom and it goes high."

"Lily does not have a real broom, she's only six months older than you."

"She does." Marco pouted. "All because Aunt Ginny was a quidditch player, she has a cool broom. She has a Firebolt. She was riding it last time we were there."

Hermione's head shot up, "What? That isn't her broom, that's her father's. She was riding Harry's broom? Who was watching you two while you were flying? Did you take a turn? I will kill Harry and Ron, you two are nine! Bloody morons!"

"Marco, I think you should go upstairs now and lay down. I think your parents need to discuss your punishment and I think you just added to it by sharing that darling little story." Eliana smirked at her lying grandson.

"Aww man! Fine. I'm sorry Mum, sorry Papa, sorry Nonna and sorry blonde lady. You look familiar." Marco claimed, finally looking closely at Narcissa, "You look a bit like my sister." and he ran upstairs to his rooms.

Hermione finally realized who was with them in the room. "Oh, hello Lady Malfoy. Sorry you had to witness that enlightening family moment. I don't think we've been properly introduced, I'm Hermione Granger."

"Yes. I remember." Narcissa answered with a small smile. "I hadn't realised this was your wife, Blaise." Narcissa looked up above the fireplace, noticing for the first time the portrait of the entire Zabini family, including Cassie. "Is this your daughter?"

"Yes." Eliana answered for her son and daughter in law. Coming up and giving Hermione a hug (she had grown to love the brunette). "That is Cassiopeia Zabini."

Narcissa looked up in shock. "Cassiopeia? Interesting choice for a name. I daresay that was a name that Draco and Astoria were contemplating when she was pregnant."

"Yes, it was Blaise's choice." Hermione announced looking at Narcissa as the older Malfoy kept looking at the portrait. _She must see it, the family resemblance_. Hermione thought. Cassie looked very much like a softer version of Draco. "Blaise, Dear. We must run. I believe we are almost late."

"Ah yes." Blaise agreed, giving his mother a hug, he gave Narcissa a hug as well. "It was good to see you again Narcissa."

Hermione gave her mother in law a hug and thanked her for watching Marco. Nodding to Narcissa, she and Blaise apparated to meet their dinner companions.

"How old is your granddaughter Eliana?" Narcissa inquired.

Eliana gave her old friend a smile. "She's almost twelve. Her birthday is in December. She's quite brilliant, takes after her mother."

"I'm sorry to ask this, but are you sure-" Narcissa started looking at the little girl's complexion.

"Cassie is Blaise's daughter in every way that matters. Blood has never mattered to the Zabinis. Hermione has always been truthful to Blaise and me. That is what matters most, that and Blaise loved her, still does in a way. They are better as a family separated than together. They were happy together, but they are happier divorced, though they don't always act divorced." Eliana explained with a laugh. She took her friend's arm. "let us have our tea."

OoOoO

Draco paced his study floor. He had so much going through his head that evening. He hadn't gone back to the office that day, he had too much to process. He had a daughter, Hermione had been pregnant when he broke up with her.

He had purposely broken her heart because of the very real threat his father had given on her life. Even though it was his father who issued the threat, it was he who had killed her spirit that night, not his father. She was the only one he had ever loved, until his son came along that is. He loved her and to leave her in such a manner made him sick. He remembered throwing up after he left her common room because of the words he had said. Those words, Gods, how he hated himself after that night. How he hated himself for years, to break her completely was literally breaking his own heart. To utter those words, words he knew she would hate, saying just the right things that he knew would remind her of the asshole he once was.

"Mip!" He called out. A loud _Pop!_ Echoed through the room as a tiny elf in a lavender skirt and baby blue collared shirt appeared in front of him.

"Yez Master Malfoy?" The little elf answered.

"When my wife returns home, tell her I need her to come here. If there is anyone with her, tell her to send them home. I don't wish to be disturbed, please." He ordered the little elf. She nodded solemnly and went back to the kitchen to wait for her master's wife. Draco chuckled, he had set Mip free when Astoria and he got married. Mip came from Astoria's family when they married. The little elf reminded him of his father's elf, Dobby. Hermione had told him all about how Dobby was a happy free elf even to his death. Astoria was evil towards the little elf so Draco asked if she would rather work for him as a free elf. After a bit of work, Draco presented her with a sock and Mip came to work for him.

Astoria was in a right state when she found out. Mip was her personal elf from when she was a child, but all property that a wife brings into a marriage belongs to the husband according to wizarding law. He was well within his right to give the elf clothes and pay her. Astoria did not approve of this and tried to talk to Draco's mother about it but it was a lost cause. Narcissa had freed all her elves as well after talking with Draco. Draco had also told Astoria he had freed all the rest of their elves and if she wanted them to wait on her personally, she would have to pay them out of her allowance.

She was livid, but what could she do? Wizarding law, he could do what he wanted. She had no choice but to pay an elf 2 galleons a week with one weekend off a month and on that weekend, she would go visit family. This had always amused Draco to no end.

He heard the _clink, clink_ of Astoria's heels on the wood floors getting louder as she came closer to the study door. As she entered, he could tell she was annoyed at being summoned.

"What is it Draco?" Astoria's voice echoed from the door.

Draco lifted the parchment of his supposed letter to Hermione and gestured to a chair by the fire. Astoria took a look at the parchment, not knowing what it was at first. Reading the first few lines, she paled and sat down. This was going to be a long evening.

OoOoOoO

Narcissa Malfoy went back to her cottage after tea. Draco and Astoria lived at the Manor, Narcissa could not stand to be in that home any longer. Too much death, despair and unhappiness could be felt in the place. Draco did the best he could to rid the place of all the dark objects and practically tore it down and rebuilt it. Her son and daughter in law had done a good job of cleaning some of bad aura that surrounded the home. Draco had seen that the drawing room, where the revels and tortures happened was gone. He couldn't take it apart, the house wouldn't allow it, so he warded it off and sealed it shut. No one had been in that room in twelve years.

Standing in her living room, she threw some floo powder into the grate and yelled for her son's study. She knew he would be there, it was just after dinner at the Manor and she had to talk to Draco.

"Draco!" She spoke into the green flames.

Draco was sitting at his desk, staring out into the gardens. The letters he brought home from his lunch with Hermione, sitting on his desk. His talk and subsequent fight with Astoria left him contemplating what to do next. He had read them all, they all said the same thing, she had needed to tell him something. She didn't want anything from him, but he needed to meet her so they could discuss something. Finally in one of the later ones, she wrote that since he hadn't bothered to answer her or contact her that she would just write it in the letter. She was pregnant. Had been for months. He was going to be a father, but not to worry, she wouldn't hold him to be a daddy. She had moved on and knew he had as well, she wished him well and that was it.

He turned to see his mother's living room flickering in the flames. "Mother, was I expecting your call this evening?"

"No Dear, but I need you to come through, we need to talk." Her voice echoed into the study. Draco stepped into the flames and was immediately engulfed into a big hug from his mother.

Draco was a bit confused. He was not used to such affection from his mother. It was just not done in their home.

"Mother, are you feeling ok?"

"Draco, I was just visiting with Eliana." Narcissa started. Draco swallowed hard, he knew where this was going. "I saw Blaise and his ex-wife, but that is not the point. I saw a portrait of the family and Blaise's daughter looks just like you. How is that possible?"

Draco groaned, this was not the way he wanted to tell his mother. He had not expected Eliana to be back as well. As Narcissa did not read the the Prophet any longer, there was a slim chance she would have even found out until Draco told her. Come to think of it, he was surprised The Prophet didn't report that the Golden Girl was back and speculate about their daughter. Draco supposed it had something to do with Hermione. She always was a bit sneaky like that, but a big story like a war heroine back in town would have been newsworthy. He made a mental note to ask her why when they reconvened their talk.

"What did Eliana tell you Mother?" Draco asked, taking a seat in an arm chair. Worry etched on his face.

"Nothing except the girl is named Cassiopeia and she is exceptionally brilliant." Narcissa answered sitting in a seat next to her son. Her eyes narrowed, "I am not daft, Draco." Narcissa snapped at her only son, "The girl looks just like you, her parents named her after a constellation, which is a Black family tradition. I doubt Blaise Zabini would be keen on the name. Blaise is the one who named her, did you know? Why would your best childhood friend; whom you haven't spoken to since Hogwarts; name his daughter, who looks nothing like himself; a name such as that? Unless he was keeping the tradition alive for another purpose?"

"Mother." Draco began, not really knowing where to start. "Mother, Blaise's oldest child is mine. I had a child with Hermione Granger."

Narcissa gasped. She knew it was true, but knowing that fact didn't make it less startling. "Draco Lucius Malfoy! Why did you never say anything?! How could you let your heir be raised without you? Hermione Granger? When were you involved with the her?"

"I didn't find out until recently." Draco blurted out. "Hermione and I were together at Hogwarts and for months, we were happy. Then I came home for Easter and you had started planning this wedding with Astoria. I told you I didn't want to marry her. I even went to Azkaban to tell father I wouldn't do it! But he threatened her life, he threatened to have people torture her to death if I didn't marry Astoria, so I broke it off with her. She was the only person I have ever loved, truly loved and I had to break her heart to be married off to a woman who I'm not even sure, has a heart. "

Narcissa paled at this revelation, she knew her husband had not changed, she knew he had still believed in the old pureblood ways.

"Son, why didn't you tell me about her? You told me you didn't want to marry, not that you were in love with another witch. I would have listened to you, I just wanted you happy."

"Mother, it wouldn't have mattered." Draco said shaking his head. "Father would have had her killed. I couldn't allow that to happen. I loved her enough to let her go. To let her hate me. I'd rather she hate me alive, then love me dead. Our family had done enough to her don't you think? Are you going to lecture me further about having a half blood as a daughter? Or sullying myself with a muggleborn?"

"Draco, once that final battle began and your father's lord wouldn't let us go in to find you, I stopped caring about blood. Cassie could be a squib for all I care, as long as she's a Malfoy. That is all I care about. She is family, she's your daughter and that is all that matters, but what are you going to tell your family? Oh Merlin, what about Scorpius, Draco? What about Astoria? You have a child other than Scorpius."

"Mother, Cassie is a Zabini, Blaise is good to her, I doubt we have to worry about Scorpius' inheritance."

"Not his inheritance, Draco. What are you going to tell your son about his sister? What are you going to tell your wife? Where is your wife anyways?"

"Fuck if I know." Draco mumbled. Narcissa scowled at him and he looked properly ashamed for using such language in front of his mother. Even at 31 years old, she still instilled a bit of fear into her son.

"Mother, Astoria is the reason I have no relationship with Cassie. Hermione had written me, to talk to her, to see her so she could tell me and I never got it!" He jumped up and began to pace again. Anger running through his veins once again. "She intercepted the letters, had her elf hide them before the wedding. Hermione wrote me almost every day for weeks! Until one day she got them all back with a supposed note from me to stop. I got those letters back from her today mother. I read them today. She wrote about meeting in person, urgent news and so forth. Then she goes on to tell me in the last few that she was pregnant. I could have known from the beginning but Astoria changed that when she interferred."

Narcissa's blue eyes grew dark and narrowed. She stood from her chair and stopped her son's pacing. "Where is she now Draco?" Her tone was menacing and it didn't take much of an imagination to figure out why so many were afraid of Narcissa Malfoy. She looked like she was ready to hex someone into oblivion. "That is unacceptable! She cost you 12 years with Cassie! Your father died years ago, all the Death Eaters have been caught or killed. We lost out on that little girl's life."

"I sent her to her sister, I couldn't look at her anymore." Draco disclosed. "I swear, if she wasn't Scorpius' mother, I'd curse into next year! I can't believe this is my life, married to _that_ cow and the woman whom I do love, married my best friend and raised my daughter with him."

Narcissa sat again and stared at her son, he had started pacing again. He had the look of a lost soul in his eyes. He hadn't looked this lost since the days of planning his wedding. Narcissa had thought it was just nerves back then, but she realised that he never lost it, not until Scorpius was born. "Do you still love her Draco?"

Draco stopped and looked at his mother. "Love who?"

"Ms. Zabini." Narcissa saw the pain flash through her son's eyes at the surname of his one time lover. She knew it was cruel to mention her in that manner, but it was the easiest way to judge Draco's reaction. He always tried to stay guarded, as a proper Malfoy should be, but she could always tell his feelings as if he wore them on his sleeve. She was his mother after all.

"That doesn't matter, what matters now is Cassie."

"They are divorced Draco."

"Yes, but I am not." He spat, not caring about being rude to his mother at that moment. "I am married to an insufferable bint for an eternity because of my blasted father who is bloody dead!"

"Language Draco." Narcissa chastised. "Draco, when is Cassie's birthday?" She asked looking down at her nails, she really needed to fix her nail charm.

"I don't even know." Draco marvelled, he had a daughter and didn't even know her birthday. "Sometime in December if I remember correctly. Why?"

"Because of the _Primogenitus Heredem_ clause of course." Narcissa answered.

"The what?" Draco asked confused.

"The First Heir Clause."


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I own nothing as always.**

 **A/N: Hello everyone! This chapter is for a good friend on her way camping :) I hope you all enjoy. Thanks to Claireabellalou for being my beta for this chapter. If you haven't read her Dramione WIP Say Goodnight and Go, you should, it's amazing.**

 **Thanks again for loving my work, I'm eternally surprised when people enjoy it. Oh and because it's been asked a few times already. When Blaise calls Hermione, Cara, it is a term of endearment. It means dear in Italian. I hope that clears that up for everyone :).**

 **Gimi aka Jess**

 **OoOoOoO**

 _"Because of the Primogenitus Heredem clause of course." Narcissa answered._

 _"The what?" Draco asked confused._

 _"The First Heir clause."_

"What the bloody hell is that?"

Narcissa explained. "Astoria was suppose to provide you with the first Malfoy heir, Scorpius was born in March, Cassiopeia in December. As she is a Malfoy by blood, even without the name, Astoria failed. Technically, the moment Cassie is acknowledged as your daughter, your marriage to Astoria will be voided. Scorpius is fine because he was conceived and acknowledged while you were still married. Come I will show you." She got up, threw some floo powder into the grate and step into Draco's study, Draco at her heels.

Walking through the Manor, she made her way to the drawing room. Draco paled, it had been twelve years since the room had been opened, but walking up to it, Draco could almost hear the screams that came out of the room.

"Mother, I don't think I-"

"Open it Draco, we must check it."

Draco groaned and begun the charms to unlock the door that led to the answers. Just being next to the room made his skin crawl. The process to unlocking the dreaded room took a few minutes and when it was opened it looked like the elves still cleaned it even with it not being used. Though they had also used it as a makeshift storage room as well, housing some of the more irritating portraits that Draco had ordered removed.

Narcissa was not surprised to see Lucius' portrait was in this room too, Draco had no photos of his father in the house, in the beginning she had thought it was solely because he was distancing himself from his father, now she knew it was because Lucius threatened the girl that he loved. A flash of anger went coursing through her, how dare he! How dare he deny his son this, after everything he had put the family through, even in prison he continued to manipulate the family, continued to rule without mercy.

The portrait of Lucius caught sight of his wife and son. It sneered from it's place on the wall as they drew closer. "Come to bring me back to my rightful place? How dare you move the Malfoy portraits and deny us access to our ancestral home! You ungrateful, spoiled child!"

Narcissa's eyes went dark again and she brandished her wand. A flash of bright purple light shot out and hit the side of the portrait, leaving a scorch mark the size of a sickle. Lucius had seen the light coming and barely dodged it by flinging himself to the side.

"How dare you Lucius Abraxas Malfoy! How dare you deny my son his happiness!" Narcissa screamed at the oil painting. Draco jumped at the volume of her voice. In all his years, he had never heard his mother yell. Narcissa was a pureblood wife after all, they didn't raise their voice, especially against their husbands. The rules had softened a bit with the new generation, though Narcissa was a class of her own, but here she was, Narcissa Malfoy nee Black, yelling at a portrait.

"Draco should not have been put in that situation! Threatening the life of a teenager, you are pathetic! If you weren't already dead, I would kill you myself, dementors be damned! I defied that man for one reason and one reason only; for Draco, he is the reason I did it all. I hope you burn in Hades, you arrogant bastard!"

"You dare raise your wand at me!" Lucius sneered back.

Narcissa glared at her husband, all love lost as soon as she found out the pain he had put her son through. With one more wave of her wand a blue flame engulfed only the frame and howls were emanating from Lucius' painting. With a final flourish of her wand, his portrait was silenced. "Oh I dare! Consider this your punishment you meddlesome arsehole, your body may be gone and I may not be able to hurt you, but your painting will burn for an eternity and you shall feel the pain of the oils running away as it burns, then come back together to do it all over again. It may not hurt the real _you_ , but it will make _me_ feel better."

Draco stood there, mildly impressed with the amount of magic it took to perform such a spell. Paintings were not homes to souls of their portraits, but a part of the owner's magic is used to infuse their essence into the canvas. It is why they were able to share information with the living. Trapping his father in neverending flames is to melt his magic within the frame and reconstitute it. It is said to be extremely painful if the person is still alive and possibly after death though there was no confirmation of this fact. Lifting her chin at the burning portrait, Lucius' face was melting and colorings were melding together in agony, she turned to Draco who was just staring in awe. He had always known his mother was vindictive, but never had he thought his father would be on the receiving end of her wand.

"Come along Draco dear, we must check." She walked away as the flames began to die out and the oils began to realign itself and the flames began again.

"Mother are you sure that is safe? What if he tries to run to a different portrait within the room?"

Narcissa scoffed and looked around at the sneering and jeering portraits lining the walls, screaming their outrage. "Let him try, the fire will follow him and will burn them as well. Whatever portrait he tries to escape to will then suffer the same fate for as long as the charm is active. Which I plan on keeping active for at least 13 years, the same amount of suffering and lost time from you and your kin."

The portraits all went silent, they could all see the glint of madness in her eye. The Black madness was not just a rumor. Generations of Malfoy's all knew Narcissa was completely serious. She may have been the finest Malfoy pureblood wife, but she was first and foremost a Black. They did not doubt that she would do as she said.

At the silence, Narcissa continued to the other side of the room to a wall covered in a thick ancient looking tapestry. A large, majestic tree was depicted with branches reaching far and wide. Like all pureblood families, the tapestry depicted the Malfoy family line, dating back over a thousand years, but the branch in question held Lucius and Narcissa with a branch off to Draco. A smaller branch connected himself to Astoria and below their names; Scorpius.

"It looks the same mother." Draco whispered. A bit upset that nothing had changed.

But Narcissa smirked at her son. "Does it? I believe I have spotted the difference before you have, son."

"No, it is no different." Draco argued.

"Draco, look at your father and my branch." Draco stared as his mother pointed at it.

 **Lucius Abraxas Malfoy**

 **Narcissa Black Malfoy**

And underneath was Draco's own branch

 **Draco Lucius Malfoy**

 **Astoria Lucinda Greengrass**

Then there was a branch that linked Draco's name to Scorpius' name and an empty space to the left of his. _Wait_ , Draco wondered, _what happened to Astoria's name_?

"Mother, what has happened?" Draco asked confused.

Narcissa smirked. "The First Heir Clause son. Astoria signed a contract saying that she would produce your first heir. When you married, the tapestry wove her onto the tree as Astoria Malfoy as she was you legal and bonded wife, or that was to be the case. The bonding never took because Miss Granger was already carrying your child and your magic was linked to another, but you were still legally married, so she stayed on as a Malfoy. Not long after she got pregnant with Scorpius and you had this room shut for good, never needing to come in here, so never noticing the change in the tapestry. Look at the dates under Astoria's name." Narcissa gestured at the

 **Married July 25, 1999 and the Dissolved December 15, 1999.**

Draco was astounded. "Mother, does this mean?"

Narcissa nodded. "I am willing to bet that Cassiopeia's birthday is the 15th of December, making her your first born heir. Astoria did not fulfill her contract, therefore the Malfoy magic has never bonded her as your wife. Scorpius is fine, like I've said, he is recognized as your son because you have said it. Draco, who is your daughter? Say her name, her full name as you know it. Who is your daughter?"

"Cassiopeia Zabini is my daughter with Hermione Granger." Draco said aloud, not sure why. As soon as the words were out of his mouth the tapestry began to glow a brilliant gold color and Narcissa and Draco watched as a branch slowly moved to the left of Draco's name and linked him to

 **Hermione Jean Granger**

And also formed another line underneath the two named for Draco's and Hermione's to form:

 **Cassiopeia Zabini Malfoy**

 **December 15, 1999**

Narcissa smiled brightly at her son. "acknowledging her as your daughter, the Malfoy family magic recognizes it's truth and has now added her to the tree as well as her mother. She is here because she has always been linked to you; not only through Cassie, but because you have never stopped loving her."

Draco, ignoring that last statement for the moment, not wanting to delve into _that_ canyon of feelings just then, went back to Astoria's name. "But why does it have Astoria as a Greengrass, does this mean I'm free of her and why that date? Shouldn't it have been the date I found out?"

"Yes." Narcissa explained, "If Astoria hadn't of known about the pregnancy, then it would have had the dissolved date as the day you confirmed Cassie was yours. Because it has the date Cassie was born only means one thing."

"That, the lying whore has known this whole time."

OoOoOoO

Draco was furious as he left the drawing room, walking quickly to the floo, leaving his mother standing at the tapestry. He was going to _murder_ the mother of his son, the bitch KNEW! It was worse that just keeping the letters from him and sending them back, she _opened_ them, must have opened them all. She knew Hermione was having his child, which is probably why she had wanted such a short engagement and why she fell pregnant so quickly. Draco was not expecting to start a family so soon, then Astoria became pregnant and that threw him straight into his next phase in life. Though he had been excited to learn he was going to be a father. Scared because he never wanted to be like his own, but excited.

"Mip!" Draco yelled as he paced in front of the fireplace, placing wards against Astoria entering. A small _Pop_! Sounded behind him and Mip called out to her master.

Turning around, Draco ordered. "Mip, grab some of the other elves, pack up all of Astoria's belongings in her rooms and all over the manor and tomorrow I would like you to drop them off at her sister's home. She has her own room there, make sure to spread it all around that room in as much disarray as you possibly can. Also, spell it so she can't use magic or other elves to move it around. Bring me her jewelry boxes, bring them to my study." With a nod and another pop, the elf left her master to begin arranging it.

Narcissa joined her son in his study a few moments later. She walked in on him going through a giant box of jewels.

"Draco, darling, what are you doing?"

"I'm removing all the Malfoy jewels mother." Draco answered.

Narcissa laughed. "Draco, dear stop, there is no need."

Draco looked up at her. "What do you mean _No need_? Of course there is need? I'm throwing her out, she can't leave with anything that belongs to a Malfoy."

Narcissa put her hand on her son's as he was still pulling strands of pearls and giant pendants out of the box. "Darling there is no need because she can't leave with them anyway. She can't even wear Malfoy heirlooms, probably hasn't been able to since the beginning. Whatever trinkets are in there are just her own or maybe pieces you have given her in the years of your union, made or bought especially for her. Malfoy pieces are only for those who are true Malfoys or bonded to a Malfoy."

"What about her wedding ring? Why is she able to wear it?"

Narcissa smirked. "Don't you remember dear? She didn't want a Malfoy heirloom, she was a modern bride, she wanted something modern. The ring you gave her was a new piece made for her. I didn't bother putting any of the usual spells and enchantments on the pieces, she is a modern witch after all, she wouldn't need the protection of the Malfoy magic. That is why she can wear it. But any jewels that are imbued with Malfoy magic, they have never adorned her body. She insisted on new pieces."

Draco smirked and stopped rummaging. "Fine, makes it easier. Mip!"

Mip appeared once again at her master's side. Draco looked down at the elf and smiled, "Mip, hold off on bringing Astoria her belongings. She is not allowed to step foot on the property, I will change the wards as to who can enter the grounds by foot. She is barred from the floo, but before we send my dear son's mother her belongings, I must make a stop tomorrow to Diagon Alley. I have a few people to see, thank you. Oh Mother, I need to get a message to the Daily Prophet and Gringotts first thing in the morning, Astoria is no longer allowed in the vaults."

Narcissa stared at her son for a moment, realising what he was up to and smiled in encouragement. "What are you planning, my dear boy?"

Draco went over to the letters sitting on his desk and began running his wand over them. "Mother, that woman not only cost me twelve years of knowing my daughter, but she has also falsely claimed to be my wife. I had not known about Cassie, she did, she knew she was in violation of the clause and while she might not have known to the extent of the bonding not taking, she did know she couldn't have possibly given me my first heir. Though she had Scorpius and for that I am grateful, she pretended to be my wife. I could have been free of her for the past twelve years and yet I have been a faithful husband to her because that is the Malfoy way. I want my revenge."

"Remember she is still the mother of your child, you can't turn your son against you by being too harsh to his mother." Narcissa cautioned.

"I won't have her sentenced to Azkaban, that is the most I can promise. Scorpius is a Malfoy, he will be ok. But I can't let her get away with it, I can't. Hermione was already married when Cassie was born and so were we, there was nothing I could have done to leave Astoria and I wouldn't have. Not after what father had threatened. But she took my choice away, so I will make her pay the best I can. I will be travelling to Hogwarts soon, I need to talk to Hermione and Blaise to see if they would like to come with me to break the news to the children." Draco vanished the box of jewels back to Astoria's room and began to compose a letter to Hermione and Blaise. His mother kissed him on his head, just like when he was a child, and left him to plan his revenge. She knew better than to try and dissuade him, he was after all, a Black as well as a Malfoy. Revenge was in his blood, she could only hope it wouldn't scar her grandson, though, if he was anything like his father. He would be fine, he was a Malfoy, they've endured worse.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything, it all belongs to JK Rowling**

 **A/N: Hello everyone, thank you all for still reading. Sometimes I don't really know why people are still interested in what goes on in my head. A little sneak peak into part of Draco's revenge is in this chapter. Don't forget Narcissa might have a few things to say as well.**

 **Thanks to my beta, Claireabellalou! If you haven't read** ** _Say Goodnight and Go_** **, you really should, it is getting really good. Another shameless plug for my collab fic,** ** _America's Calling_** **, which just updated yesterday. It's full of yummy lemons that we all love. Huge shoutout to my co-writer ErisAceso who has completely picked up my slack when my muse for AC dwindled. She has written the last 5 chapters on her own like the champ that she is. Also my other co-writer, RooOJoy has also gotten the writing bug and is collabing on another fic, _Out of the Flames_ so go and check that out as well. Love my Golden Girls always.**

 **Shoutout to HeatherQuynn from Wandlore of HP for being caught up on Cassie and a loyal reader! Makes my day! LOVE always HeatherQuynn.**

 **Love and Slyther,**

 **Gimi aka Jess**

The next day, Draco had a very early morning. He had made it to the Daily Prophet office before the morning edition went out. He had hoped to make the morning paper. He had sent his son a letter to be delivered by elf as well as Hermione and Blaise as a courtesy and a request to meet them for lunch at his office. He had also made it to Gringotts and refused Astoria's access to the Malfoy family vaults and restored her dowry vault to her former name. After Gringotts he had gone to the family jewelers and requested all receipts for all jewelry made for Astoria at her request. He had decided anything that he gifted her was just that, a gift, but anything she commissioned on her own was not. Doing the same at the family tailor, he finally made his way home with a slight spring in his step.

Back home, he sat at his breakfast table and called for Mip. He had told her to deliver Astoria's belongings (knowing full well Astoria would still be asleep) and the receipts. He had mentioned to be as loud as possible while she was at it. Mip smiled broadly and bowed at her master, disapparating on the spot. At this, Draco began to laugh, _even the elf is glad to be shot of her._ Shaking his head in laughter, he began to eat his breakfast. He had a long, chaotic day ahead of him, he needed his strength.

OoOoOoO

Hermione was just getting into the office after dropping Marco off at school when Blaise opened the door and ushered her in with the morning paper in his hand. Handing it to her, he took her coat and bag and hung it up as she sat on the sofa. Reading the headline, Hermione let out a breath of air.

"Hermione, Love did you owl Cassie this morning?"

"Of course I did, I'm assuming Draco sent you an owl to meet for lunch and his big news, I figured something like this was coming and actually sent Peekey to deliver it, I thought it would be better to get it to her sooner rather than at breakfast."

Blaise nodded, he knew his ex-wife was too brilliant for words, times like this he almost felt like she was a seer. Internally smirking at that idea, knowing full well what she thought about Divination. "I guess we are having lunch with Draco huh?"

Hermione smiled at Blaise. "Yes, It's about time we talk about what to do next."

Blaise chuckled and grabbed her hand. "It's too late to move back to the states huh? Keep our family to ourselves?"

Hermione looked up at the concern in Blaise's eyes and grabbed his face, kissing him softly on the cheek. "Our family will always be ours. You know Cassie will not care that he knows. She's known who he is and she still loves her papa. More than she loves her Mum if you ask me."

"Yes, she's always known, but knowing it and having it in front of you is a different thing altogether. What happens now?"

"Sweetheart, nothing will happen. You are her Papa, don't worry. Draco will not take anything from you, just add more to her life. Remember, you are the one who wanted this. He was your best friend, you took care of her because he was your friend. You loved her from the day she was born."

Blaise smiled. "You are wrong. I took care of both of you because I loved you. She has always been easy to love. I don't know where she gets that from, probably me." Blaise teased. "Draco and you are such hard work to love some days."

Hermione laughed. "Probably. You have always been the _easy_ one dear. I'll be sure to let Susan know all about it."

Blaise laughed as well. "She knows enough. She doesn't need your insight."

Hermione smiled at her ex-husband with affection. "Of course she does. She needs to know what a catch you are."

Blaise smiled. "You know everyone thinks we are so odd." Hermione gave him a confused look. "Because we are still friends. Everyone seems to think that because we're divorced we should be mortal enemies."

Hermione scoffed. "I've had mortal enemies, in fact, I had a child with someone I thought to be one years ago." Blaise laughed. "We have survived a war and the aftermath as well as the fallout between myself and Draco. I don't think just because we divorced makes you any less the man I fell in love with."

"What about you and Draco?" Blaise asked curiously. He knew no matter what Hermione said, she had always loved his former friend. Maybe not the same way she had when they were kids, but love that deep didn't just disappear. He had imprinted on her heart, he was as much a part of her as Blaise himself.

"What about Draco? He's married. It's been 13 years." Hermione started.

"He told you why _Cara_." Blaise pointed out. "And as well as I know Lucius, I agree with Draco. He loved you more than anything. I know he did and you are a stubborn witch, if he told you what was going on, you would have fought him every step of the way and you would have died. Knowing that, I'm glad he did it the way he did. I love you Hermione, but you would have walked into your death without looking back and you were _pregnant_."

"I _know that_ Blaise." Hermione stressed a bit miffed that the only two men she loved knew her so well. She couldn't even pretend they were wrong, because they weren't. She believed that love conquered all. She knew she would have convinced Draco that they were worth it, that they had survived war, they could survive anything if they were together, but she was pregnant. In her more mature brain she knew that she would have been risking, not only her life but Cassie's and that would not be acceptable. "I would not change it, as much as I look back on that night and am hurt by it, I know he did it for what he thought were the right reasons. I can't fault him for that because that led me to you and to Marco and our family. But Draco is still married and just because I understand, doesn't mean I forget what I… we went through. I understand, but the pain doesn't go away instantly."

Blaise looked at Hermione, understanding in his eyes. "I know Sweetheart. I guess we will just to see what happens."

Hermione smiled again, getting up and going to her desk. "Come on Love, let's get some work done before our lunch meeting."

OoOoOoO

Draco had gone into his office and changed his wards so none of the Greengrass family could enter the building. He also barred them from the Manor, his mother's cottage and fire called Headmistress McGonagall and after explaining what had happened, made it known that Astoria Greengrass and all family members were not allowed to contact his son.

Draco had been up most the night going through his and Astoria's betrothal contracts. Astoria had added an amendment to the contract that in case of unforeseeable circumstances and they separated that all children would remain with Draco at a price of one million galleons a child with a five hundred galleons a year for every year of their marriage and the age of their child at the time of their separation. Draco was almost giddy to confront Astoria, the stupid bint who basically sold her children before they were even born, but that would come later.

Draco had not worried about what the contract had said when he signed it, it is near impossible to be released from a pureblood marriage as a bonding is a normal part of the ceremony. Hermione and Blaise must not have had a bonding, the Zabini's were not a traditional pureblood family. Eliana Zabini had been married multiple times while Blaise and he were growing up and Blaise did marry a muggle born who was pregnant with another's child. They were anything but traditional, but Draco could care less. The fact was, they loved his daughter like she was their own, even knowing that she wasn't.

He was sure Hermione was going to marry that Ron Weasley. He had always fancied her, but was surprised when she had disappeared and he married his old girlfriend… the girl whose name was a flower… Violet? Rose? Gardenia? Whatever it was, they got married almost immediately following the end of school, like so many of their class, himself included. Astoria was only the year behind him so they had both finished school at the same time and were married a month later, in July, she was pregnant only a few weeks later.

Theo had entered Draco's office as soon as Draco had finished resetting the wards, paper in hand. "Draco, what the hell is this business in the paper? Why is there an interview with you about your marriage?"

"What marriage Theo?" Draco asked, leaning back in his chair and putting his hands behind head.

"Don't play games with me Draco. What is going on? What does this mean for the company?" Theo was Draco's partner in the company. He did not appreciate not knowing what was going on with his oldest friend and business partner.

Draco rolled his eyes. "It means nothing for the company. I can't tell you any more than what is in the article. That Astoria tricked me into staying married to her for so long and that she is no longer a Malfoy. I will tell you more as soon as I get more situated with the other parties involved, but not before."

"What does this mean for you, personally, Draco?" Theo inquired, he had been a bit confused about his friend's attitude. He always knew Draco had never loved Astoria, but he also knew the ways of a pureblood marriage and it was near impossible to be released from one. He also knew that there is no way Draco was not going to be released without a huge settlement to be given to Astoria.

"Not to worry Theo, I've already talked to my solicitor." Draco smirked. "Astoria will get everything that she has coming to her."

With that statement Theo couldn't help but laugh. If he knew his friend, Astoria was in big trouble.

"DRACO LUCIUS MALFOY, WHERE THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU!" A shrill voice came booming from behind the office door. Theo went and opened it and his wife, Pansy Nott came barrelling in. "What in bloody hell is this rubbish in the paper and why do I have Astoria pounding at my door at this hour of the day?! What is this shite that she can't get into her home or to the office and if you don't get her out of my home, I will hex off your bollocks!"

Theo paled slightly for his friend but Draco just laughed and held up his hand. "Mip!" a small _Pop!_ Shortly followed and there stood his elf. Draco nodded at his elf. "Can you please go to Nott Manor and escort Miss Greengrass to her family home and instruct the Nott elves to update the wards to keep Astoria and Daphne from the property until Mrs. Nott resets them herself." The elf nodded and was about to leave when Draco stopped her. "Oh and Mip, use whatever is necessary to get her out." Mip smiled and nodded again, leaving with a _Pop!_

"Thank Merlin!" Pansy sighed, sitting down on the couch. "What is going on?"

"Never mind Pans. I will let you both know when I know exactly what is going to happen. Right now, I'm taking care of Astoria."

"So the Prophet is true? Astoria is no longer your wife? How did that happen so quickly?"

"Pansy." Theo went to his wife and grabbed her arm. "Let's go, leave Draco to his scheming. As long as it doesn't hurt the company, I would like to see where this goes."

Draco grinned broadly. "Oh no, it will not hurt us at all, though I dare say. Astoria will not be happy."

Pansy began to laugh. "Good, I can't stand her or Daphne. I'm only nice to them because of you and Greg."

"Well I don't know about Daphne, but you don't have to be nice to Astoria unless you feel like it." Draco chortled as Pansy and Theo left his office. Several owls tried to deliver letters to him and even a few howlers, but Draco charmed them not to explode until they got back to their senders and sent them back.

OoOoOoO

By lunch time, the floo in Draco's office went off and Hermione and Blaise stepped out of the grate. Draco looked up, he had food brought up to them, knowing that there would be reporters outside his building. That was also the reason why he had Blaise and Hermione floo in instead of come through the front door.

Hermione walked over and dropped the paper on his desk. "Draco, what is this? What is this article about you being divorced?"

Draco smirked. "It's a long story, needless to say Cassie's birth annulled my marriage. Technically I haven't been married since Cassie's birth."

Hermione paled. "Are you saying that your annulment is my fault? I tried to tell you!"

"Merlin Woman!" Draco snapped over Hermione's shouts. "I'm not blaming you. You didn't know about the clause."

Hermione stopped yelling. "What clause?"

"Primogenitus Heredem clause."

Blaise looked up in recognition. "First Heir? I didn't think anyone used that anymore."

Draco scoffed. "No one does, but of course, Lucius was stuck in the old ways and he had the clause put in."

Draco spent a few minutes to explain the clause to Hermione who was not familiar with the pureblood contracts. He also explained the family tapestry and his mother's display with Lucius' portrait. Blaise was especially amused and slightly scared at the anger Narcissa held for her husband. Blaise had known Narcissa his entire life, she was cool and aloof to everyone, but he knew she had a fire for her family, now it was literally eating her husband's portrait. He felt that was fitting for Malfoy senior.

They discussed the article finally, Draco disclosed that it was Astoria who had sent back the letters and the one addressed from him and had known about the pregnancy because she read them all. Hermione's eyes flared dangerously and for a second Draco was reminded of his mother in the drawing room. A hellcat geared to protecting her young. Draco placated her, telling her, his revenge on Astoria will be more than suitable, there is no need to speak to her again.

Blaise also reminded her that it didn't matter, it happened a long time ago and Draco knows now. Draco had started to argue a point but saw the look that Blaise had given him, clearly saying, _shut up git. You'll just piss her off more_ and Draco shut up quickly.

"I won't do anything." Hermione promised. "I'm sure whatever Draco has planned for her will suffice, but I swear Draco, if I have to deal with either Greengrass sister, they will be picking up pieces of them in a match box."

Draco laughed and agreed. He began asking questions about Cassie, trying to learn about her through her parents. He had made it clear to Blaise early on in their visit that he was not trying to take over as Cassie's dad.

Blaise had raised her for twelve years and done a fine job. Blaise had always been his best mate and it was even more evident since he had gone and raised Draco's child as his own, even after the horrid way Draco had ended all those years ago.

At the end of the meeting, he had invited them to both accompany him to Hogwarts that evening after work so they could all talk to a children and he could be formally introduced to his daughter. Blaise had to cancel his dinner with Susan but they both agreed it was best to do it as a family and would be back after business closed for the day.

As the green flames took Blaise and Hermione away, Draco decided it was time for him to speak to Astoria. Stepping into the grate he called out, "Greengrass Estate!" and he was whisked away.

As he entered the parlor of the Greengrass home, shouts and sobbing could be heard echoing from the study. Draco entered the study and met four sets of green eyes.

"Good afternoon Astoria. We need to have a little chat."


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but my story name sake, Cassie Zabini, all well known characters are property of JK Rowling.**

 **A/N: Hello again! This chapter has got to be my favorite chapter I've written to date. It came together very quickly and sometimes I amaze myself with how much my brain comes up with some of these things. This is the fun chapter, Draco's revenge and let me tell you, it is truly amazing.**

 **Special thanks to my beta for this chapter** ** _thewaterfalcon,_** **she did great and all while having a family crisis. I am truly blessed to have such great help with my story. Check out her Paneville (Pansy x Neville) fic,** ** _Darkened Sky_** **. You will love it. This chapter is dedicated to my readers. I am truly blown away when people post that they are willing to drop whatever they are doing to read a chapter. That still blows my mind.**

 **Love and Slyther,**

 **Gimi aka Jess**

The room had gone quiet for a few moments until different voices started at once. Draco could only make out a few words; _Gringotts, belongings, house elf, what is the meaning,_ amongst them. Raising his wand, he cast a nonverbal _Silencio_ on the four Greengrass family members.

"Much better. Now, as I was saying." Draco's voice was low, and even _without_ the charm, the room would have been quiet. It escaped none of the family's notice that while Draco Malfoy was not by any means a willing Death Eater during the war; he was still entirely capable of administering real harm should he choose to do so and whilst they outnumbered him, they were aware he had kept the company of many Death Eaters and Voldemort himself. Having never set foot on a battlefield, it would not be a wise move for the witches and wizard to make.. "Astoria, we need to talk. In fact, let us go to Malfoy Manor, mother will meet us there. She can enlighten you on what is going on."

He released the spell and Astoria was pale. "What do you mean? Draco what is the meaning of all of this? Why did the bloody elf scatter all of my belongings around my rooms at Daphne's? What is going on?"

Turning, Draco regarded Astoria with a look of disgust. "We will speak when we get to the manor. I'm sure there will be a lot of questions, your family may join us if they wish. I would hate for them to get a skewed view of what has happened. There is a lot we need to discuss and not just what was in the paper."

"You knew." It was not a question, but more of a statement from Astoria's father, Malcolm.

Draco smirked. "Of course I knew, I'm the one who gave the statement in person. I will go ahead, I have to lift the wards to allow you in, but Daphne will stay here. She is no longer allowed in my home."

"Why not?!" Daphne screamed, angry tears welling at her overly done eyes.

"Because, you nosy bint, this does not concern you. Go home to your husband and thank him for loving you. You useless woman!" With that, Draco threw some floo powder in the study fireplace and floo'd to his study.

Upon arrival to his study, he saw that his mother was there, accompanied by the Malfoy family's solicitor, who had all the relevant paperwork ready. While he had gotten up early that day to take care of business with the bank and the other shops in Diagon Alley, he had his mother call the solicitor and get everything squared away. They spoke for a few moments, exchanging niceties while Draco relishing in the fact that he was keeping his ex and her family waiting. He knew they hated to wait, sometimes it really was the little things that just tickled him.

Onceup to date with everything, Draco lowered the wards and fire called them to come through. Draco and Narcissa failed to suppress the grins on their faces when they saw the look of incredulity on Malcolm's and Amelia Greengrass' faces. Astoria arrived after her parents and Draco quickly barred any further access from the Greengrass Estate, knowing that Daphne would still try and follow. _That woman was truly the nosyiest woman in Britian._

"Really Draco, what is the meaning of this?" Malcolm yelled. Bringing her wand up, Narcissa rapidly silenced the man.

"This happens to be _Malfoy_ Manor and you will _not_ raise your voice at my son." Narcissa said severely as she narrowed her eyes. She glanced over at Astoria and openly glared at her.

"One moment, we are missing someone." Draco grinned broadly, clearly enjoying the animosity.

"What do you mean? You've already banned my sister!" Astoria seethed. She really had no clue as to what was going on. She knew Draco was upset about the letter she had sent to that _Mudblood_ all those years ago, but what did that matter now? He had _married_ her, they were bonded, he would just have to get over it.

"Oh, not her. I invited a very special guest to join us." Draco's grin spread so wide that Astoria was almost afraid.

The chime for the fireplace went off in the entrance hall. "Ahh, that must be my guest now."

Mip entered the study, followed by Rita Skeeter and Theo. Theo glanced around the room, he had apparated to the front hall as Rita had stepped out of the grate, he had needed a few signatures from Draco, but this looked like it could be interesting.

"Ah, Ms. Skeeter." Draco began amused, there was a slight twinkle in his eye that unnerved Astoria. "Theo, what are you doing here?"

Theo grinned, sure this was bound to be entertaining, he hadn't seen his friend grin like that in years. "You left early, I have some papers for you to sign, but it can wait, looks like I walked in on something important."

"Yes, this is a family matter so I don't see why Ms. Skeeter is here." Malcolm spat. Rita raised her eyebrow, bringing out her quill and notebook. Long gone was her trusted acid green _Quick Quotes Quill,_ but a new one that her boss insisted she use. This quill was charmed to write only the truth with none of the little embellishments that Rita was known for. She would have quit years ago if it wasn't for the fact that the owners had purposefully black balled her in every part of the UK, as well as Italy and France.

After the war, Rita had attempted to write a book detailing the lives of the _Golden Trio_. Her publisher said a firm _no_ in fact, every publisher Rita had enquired with had said just that, _No_. The _Golden Trio_ could do no wrong, and so she went back to news, where she had remained queen. Until, that was, the new owners of the _Prophet_. Forced to sign a new contract, Rita had no choice but to write newsworthy stories, not gossip. _Gossip?!_ She had never been so insulted, but she needed to eat and so she signed. Now she was bound to the _The Daily Prophet_ for her career. At least she got paid well enough.

Draco, who had remained broadly grinning, answered. "Oh, she is here because I promised her an exclusive this morning for this. See Astoria, we had our betrothal contract signed before our wedding and my despicable father, conniving bastard that he is, had enclosed a very specific clause. One that is no longer commonly applied to today's society, but he enclosed the _Primogenitus Heredem clause, also known as_ the 'First Heir' Clause, meaning you have to provide me with the first Malfoy heir or our marriage is annulled."

"I have you absolute git." Astoria spat. "What do you call our son?"

"Oh I think you know _exactly_ what Scorpius is, in regards to the succession line, my dear." Narcissa interrupted.

"Let us talk while we walk. Oh, and Ms Skeeter, you may not print any of your observations unless I say it is ok. As of right now, you are solely here as an observer. ." Draco instructed the reporter, her mouth falling into a grim line as he smirked back at her. "Interesting thing your supervisor told me to tell you, wouldn't you agree?"

Rita's head exploded, _Damn that man!_ She thought fiercely. She wanted this story and wanted to tell it _her_ way, but now her hands were tied! It was as though he _didn't_ want to be the subject of the biggest scoop since the downfall of 'He Who Must Not be Named'.

The odd looking group left the study and began to make their way to the ground floor. "Now, I found out some very interesting news, just the other day. As it turns out, I, in fact, have another child that I knew nothing about."

At once the Greengrass family began to shout simultaneously and Rita's quill worked ferociously. While she couldn't print it all, she definitely didn't want to forget any of it. _You cheated on me? You fucking bastard! How dare you treat my daughter this way!_

Draco shook his head, noticing the familiar effects of a headache come over him, waving his wand again, he silenced the three offenders. "Honestly, if you do not keep quiet and let me speak, I will have the elves lock you in the dungeons." He released the spell once again, though no one would have known from the absolute silence that followed Draco's statement. Theo muffled a chuckle at his friend. He of course knew that the dungeons were closed permanently, but apparently Draco had never informed the rest of his family of this tidbit

Draco continued the telling of his story as the group descended down the stairs, reaching the hall that lead to the drawing room. "My other child was conceived while we were at Hogwarts, before I was aware of my impending doom of a marriage. The mother and I had no contact after our relationship ended, at least on my end anyway. However, I found out recently that she had sent letters to me, informing me of her pregnancy. Letters I _did not_ receive. Any thoughts as to why I never received these letters, Astoria?"

Astoria fumed outwardly, but inside she felt cold. She knew he was upset with her for sending that blasted letter to his _Mudblood whore_. Disdain dripped from her words. "I already admitted to sending that owl Draco, I didn't think it was proper for another woman to be in correspondence with my future husband. How was I to know what was in those letters? That you sired a _bastard_ before we wed?"

Draco grinned viciously at her. "Oh I think you knew, I think you opened those letters and found out that she was pregnant. I think that is why you insisted on such a short engagement, because you had no way to know how pregnant she was. We weren't friends while at school, and therefore you hadn't any idea how far along she was. I think you knew all about the clause and were trying to get married and pregnant as soon as you could so _you_ could produce the first Malfoy heir. Sneaky snake that you are, I can't fault you for trying. It is our way of course, achieve our ends, it's the Slytherin motto."

Draco dropped the wards on the room while Astoria swallowed the vomit that was threatening to come up. She had never been inside the drawing room and the aura the room held was threatening and downright scary! Everyone, _with the exception of Narcissa and Draco,_ were a bit apprehensive. This was the room where people had been killed, tortured and raped in, after all. Draco opened the room, he held the door open in a gentlemanly fashion and ushered everyone inside.

Instantly, the sound of agonised screams filled the air and Narcissa couldn't help but snicker in spite of herself. She was truly proud of her revenge on her dear husband and the thought that Astoria and her idiotic parents would see what happens when you cross a Black, well that was just the icing on the cake.

"Draaa… Dracoo, what is that?" Astoria whispered, her face had paled once again. Draco walked in after everyone had entered the room, the door swinging closed behind him.

"That is just a bit of revenge on my part." Narcissa explained, walking past everyone and heading towards the painting of her husband, silencing the picture with a flick of her wand. The blue flames were licking the canvas, like a sort of tender caress. The oils were running down and muddying the colours. "My dearly departed husband had wronged my one and only son, you see and I do not take kindly to _anyone_ hurting my family, _especially_ Draco or my grandchildren." Narcissa looked proudly at the painting as it magically reversed and for a split second, Lucius Malfoy stood in all his glory, he looked regal and pristine as usual. The only difference would be the pain in the eyes of the occupant. "Now, now Lucius. You were a supporter of that vile dictator , take your punishment like a man." She scolded the painting and Draco chuckled at the sight of his mother, and at his father's painting, which had started to melt once more.

"You dddiiddd this to your huuussband's portrait?" Amelia Greengrass stuttered, her eyes were wide.

Narcissa looked directly at Astoria and Theo could see the resemblance to Bellatrix. That wild Black eye, that was the same look he had seen in the mad woman LeStrange, when she would visit the Nott home during the war. He had thought that crazed look had died with Bella, but apparently Narcissa was a true Black and with that realisation, Theo was immensely glad he had always been on good terms with Narcissa Malfoy.

"Yes, I did." Narcissa spoke softly, the Malfoys had a way of being menacing even with a whisper. "I would do anything to avenge my son, even if it means to disown my husband." Astoria visibly paled and was shaking slightly.

Malcolm cleared his throat, trying to regain some self composure. "What does this have to do with my daughter? She knew nothing about your _bastard_." He emphasised the word. Draco, beginning to see red,took a deep breath, it would not do to set the man ablaze like his mother had done to Lucius' portrait. This man, after all, was still alive, while there had been many murders to take place in this room, he had never been on the end that had taken any lives and while he hated the man at this moment, he refused to start now.

"Oh I _know_ she did, let's find the tapestry Mother." At her son's words, Narcissa broke her angry stare she had fixed on Malcolm and focused her attentions to Draco. Nodding, she moved towards the wall which displayed the Malfoy family tree. Once there, Draco drew attention to his branch with his family. "Look at the date of marriage and dissolvement, you conniving money-grabbing whore."

 **Dissolved December 15, 1999.**

"What is the meaning of this?" Amelia shrieked, pointing at the date in question. "How did you do that Draco? What is going on?"

"What is going on Amelia, according to the First Heir Clause, is that because Draco's daughter was born before Scorpius, Astoria did not fulfill her part of the contract. She and Draco are magically divorced. Now, had no one known about about his daughter until Draco acknowledged her, the date would have reflected that."

"I found out about my daughter just a few days ago. The dissolvement date should have been that day when I told mother, but the date, is infact, the date of her birth. This means that a _Malfoy_ had known about my daughter's birth, or at the very least, that a Malfoy knew of the pregnancy."

Astoria had grown even paler. "What are you saying? That I knew about your _bastard_? That is ridiculous! I had no idea that you slept with that _Mudblood_!" She screamed at her hus- ex husband. Secretly she was glad to be rid of Draco, she had no love for him and she was entitled to a great deal of galleons, there was definitely no love lost between the two.

Draco smirked at his son's mother. He had stopped thinking of her as anything more a long time ago. "Astoria, are you aware that there is a way to check a person's wand to see what spells it had used, throughout the entire age of the wand? Did you also know that this type of spell has been perfected since the war ended? To look for specific spells and the items it was used for? It is used in the Ministry, to prosecute Death Eaters for specific crimes. It is how my Uncles were finally prosecuted for what they did to the Longbottoms all these years after the incident. They had performed countless cruciatus curses after they were broken out of Azkaban during the second war. But once they were caught after the Battle of Hogwarts, Rabastan had tried to say, he had not done anything but watched during that incident. He might have gotten away with it too, but Hermione Granger came up with a spell better than _Prior Incantato!_ She is truly brilliant, her spell looks for specific spells and if there are more than one of the same spell, it looks for dates and recipient of that spell. So say, I take your wand from your hand right now and perform this spell, I can shuffle through all the spells you've performed and focus on specific years;, spells; times; dates and what object or person that spell was aimed at."

Astoria began to cry, not in melancholy, but in anger and in fear. Of course the _Mudblood_ would come up with a spell like that. "Fine! I read the bloody letters she sent! I knew she was pregnant!"

Theo laughed. Astoria's gobsmacked parents looked at him in anger, causing him to laugh even harder. "You are truly an idiot Astoria. I thought Daphne was dimwitted, but you are even dumber than she is." Theo gasped out loud as he laughed. "You knowingly lied to, not only an ex Death Eater, albeit a horrible one-" he chuckled as Draco stuck two fingers up at him, before Theo continued "-but you lied to a Malfoy. Now I understand the armatta of people you've assembled Draco. Well played, my friend."

The Malfoy's solicitor stepped forward, _before Astoria could begin to yell at Theo,_ and collected a stack of papers from inside his bag. "Astoria Greengrass, as a member of the Ministry and a legal advocate, it is my duty to tell you that since you have just announced that you knew of the conception of Lord Malfoy's daughter and admit to knowing she was his first heir, your marriage was dissolved on the date of her birth. According to your previous betrothal contract, you would be entitled to one million galleons for the birth of Scorpius Malfoy and five hundred galleons for every year you were married."

Astoria smiled in triumph, she would still take something from Draco, that bastard. She was acting so smugly, she almost missed the next part of the solicitor's speech.

"However, because Cassiopeia was born before Scorpius, she is the first heir, and your marriage dissolved on that date, meaning you were only _legally_ married for a little less than 5 months." Astoria's smile instantly began to fade. "As well as the fact that since you were no longer married when Scorpius was born, you are no longer entitled to the one million galleons."

"What about child support!" Astoria yelled at the man. If he had been anyone else, the glare she gave him would have made him quiver, but he was the Malfoy's solicitor after all, and there was no fear as he looked right back at her. "You signed away rights to Scorpius, that was your amendment to the betrothal contract. _Should Draco Malfoy and Astoria Greengrass dissolve their union, all children will become the sole responsibility of Draco Malfoy for the sum of one million galleons._ " The solicitor read aloud from the contract, the loathing indicated in his voice was apparent, as he spoke to a mother who had little interest in her children. "Scorpius Malfoy is now in the sole custody of Draco Malfoy."

Malcolm Greengrass was spitting mad, Draco thought he might actually see smoke pour out of the man's ears. "We will fight this Draco, you will not take my grandson away from my daughter!"

The solicitor was the one who answered. "You are more than welcome to fight, but this is a betrothal contract that was accepted by the ministry when Ms Greengrass and Mr Malfoy were to be married. It is well documented and the tapestry shows the dates. However outdated, pureblood laws still apply, and since you are a pureblood, there is no fighting it. This contract is binding. This is Ms Greengrass' own doing and you have no one to yell at but your own daughter."

Theo has standing in a corner, apart from the Greengrass family, his fist in his mouth, biting down to keep from laughing. This was probably the best scheme he had ever seen and there were many witnesses to the Greengrass' humiliation. He just knew Pansy would be spitting mad she missed it. He wondered if Draco still had the family pensieve. This would be a great gift for his wife.

Malcolm Greengrass began to usher his family from the drawing room, ranting about _solicitors_ ; _this not being over_ and _Greengrass family is not to be deceived._ Draco waved his wand and Malcolm found his voice gone again. Draco almost laughed at the look he was given. Really, it was comical how many times he used that spell on the Greengrasses that day, he had never noticed just how much they interrupt. "Oh I am not finished yet Malcolm." Draco conjured up a sofa and gestured them all to sit. The three Greengrasses wanted to refuse, but the look Draco gave them and the screams from Lucius' portrait, the silencing spell having since worn off, causing Narcissa to silence him again. This all reminded them that this was not just any pureblood family, but the Malfoys. It wasn't Lucius, but as the last scream was silenced, they remembered that Lucius wasn't the vicious one anymore and all sat down.

Narcissa conjured up extra seating for the rest of the group, just now remembering that the reporter was there as well, her quill scribbling so quickly, Narcissa actually wondered if it would catch fire. Catching Rita's eye, Narcissa gestured to the newly conjured seating, smirking a bit at the little jump, the reporter had been concentrating so hard that she hadn't noticed the chair behind her.

Draco sat and looked at his former family. "Now, we have come to the bit where I explain why I sent all your belongings to Goyle's home. Obviously, you are no longer my wife, so you do not live here, hence sending your stuff away. You are no longer allowed on any Malfoy properties except accompanied by Scorp. I have denied your access to all Malfoy vaults as well as visited the family tailor and jeweler. Any pieces you have had made since the date of our annulment; clothing _and_ jewelry, has been noted and charged to your dowry vault. I have reverted your dowry back to your former name and it belongs to you with those exceptions. Any jewelry that I have gifted to you, you may keep as a gesture of goodwill."

Theo snorted from his corner and even Narcissa had the ghost of a smile on her face. Draco ignored this and continued. "I have also been generous enough to deposit the appropriate amount of galleons for the months we were married, even though our marriage was never considered valid. You may continue to see Scorp at my approval, but we shall have to work out a schedule as I don't ever want to see you again."

Astoria shot up in anger, she was getting completely cut off! She was getting absolutely nothing! "All because you were stupid enough to get a Mudblood pregnant!? I was doing you a favor! You will be sorry about this Draco Malfoy! Your father would be rolling in his grave had he known you got a Mudblood pregnant then left your heir to be raised like a common animal! He would have killed you all!"

Narcissa's wand flew out so quickly that no one had even known she had done anything until Astoria hit the wall and was stuck to it about three feet from the ground. Amelia and Malcolm both began to yell and before they even thought to bring out their wands, Draco wordlessly summoned them both and held them in place as his mother walked over to Astoria. Astoria's anger quickly dissipating as she watched the blonde matriarch walk right up to her.

Narcissa examined the woman she had called daughter for the past twelve years and never had she looked at anyone with such anger and disgust. And she was a woman who had been regularly subjected to witnessing people being killed and tortured. "You will never talk about my grand daughter like that again, do you understand?" Astoria looked at her mutiniously and Narcissa used a trick she had learned from Lucius. She raised her hand and holding it up and chanting softly, Astoria began to feel her throat constrict, just a tad, not to be choked, but just enough to realise what was happening. "Do. You. Understand?" Narcissa empathised each word and inched her fingers together each time. The invisible hand on Astoria's throat squeeze slightly each time too. Her eyes enlarged as she nodded. "You will _never_ say a bad thing to my grandson about his sister or her mother. You will not use that filthy word around my grandson, he will not pick up your bad habits or so help me, I _will_ finish this. I told Draco to be nice because you are his son's mother, but you say or do anything about _ANY_ Malfoy and I will _end_ you _and_ your family. I must admit, madness runs in the Black family, much more than it does the Malfoy line. These last few days, I have been feeling a bit _mad_. Do not give me a reason to act upon this madness."

Once again Draco looked at his mother in wonder. She released Astoria, who fell ungracefully to the ground and coughed. The solicitor took out a quill and gestured to Astoria. "I do suggest you sign this acceptance Ms Greengrass. Mr Malfoy is being very generous, allowing you to keep anything at all. Signing this contract means you acknowledge the terms of the annulment and you agree to the settlement. It is a confidentiality contract, meaning you and your family cannot speak of the terms of this annulment. This binds you from going to the press and defaming Mr Malfoy or his business partners. If you violate these terms or any member of your family, this includes their spouses, you will forfeit the dowry as well as a sum of one million galleons and will be facing charges of fraud."

"What fraud!?" Malcolm shouted.

Narcissa looked at him with her nose in the air. "Malcolm, your precious daughter knowingly kept my granddaughter from her father. She has been acting as Draco's wife for the past eleven years. She has been living here as his wife as well as spending his money without regret or guilt and the only reason he isn't pressing charges against her is because of Scorpius. Violate these terms and the Greengrass family will cease to exist and we will turn your lovely estate into a school for muggleborn witches and wizards, so they will be able to make the transition into Hogwarts easier and we shall name it after my granddaughter's mother."

"Who is this granddaughter you keep speaking of?" Amelia asked, spitting mad.

Draco grinned broadly. "Cassiopeia Zabini Malfoy. Her mother is Hermione Granger."

"No fucking way!" Theo's voice was barely audible behind the clank of a notebook and quill hitting the ground.


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot and Cassie. All other known chars are property of JK Rowling.**

 **A/N: Hello everyone, I know this chapter is late by a few days, but writing it was actually very difficult. I'm still not sure I'm 100% happy with it, but if I kept looking at it I would go mad. This chapter has been beta'd by avis blue of avis1765. I just couldn't wait to share with everyone (as my normal). I have made it my normal to dedicate Cassie chapters to people and I would like to thank my Wandlore girls, Melissa and Sarah whose birthdays were just a few days ago. I meant to write a one shot for them, but Cassie took priority, I hope you both had a great day.**

 **As always Love and Slyther,**

 **Gimi aka Jess**

As soon as Astoria signed the contract. An irate Greengrass family floo'd away.

Draco answered a few questions to an almost giddy, but shell shocked Rita. He had forbidden her from announcing Cassie's or Hermione's names until further notice, but she was still able to print that his marriage had ended because of breach of contract. Even without the bulk of the story and Narcissa threatening to set her on fire, she still had the scoop of the century.

Theo was amazed he had not known about his friend and the Gryffindor Princess that last year of school. He knew why they kept it a secret, while Theo and Pansy could care less about blood now; in school… well… they were still deep in their denial about the santacties of blood.

Draco had promised to answer all questions his friend had later, he had to meet with Hermione and Blaise in Hogsmeade to tell the children. Just before he left, Mip brought a letter to her master, upon opening it Draco smiled so warmly, it was almost eerie to his friend.

Theo excused himself, telling Draco he was going to borrow the Malfoy pensieve because if he didn't bring proof of what just happened, his wife would separate his bollocks from his body and he was rather attached. Chuckling, Draco nodded and Theo left with a swift goodbye.

"Draco, dear what has you so happy?" Narcissa asked as they headed back to his study, a copy of the signed contract in his hand.

"Well, it's a note from Hermione and Blaise." Draco said with another smile. "They would like you to come along to meet your Granddaughter."

Narcissa stopped on the stairs and stared at her son, a small smile forming on her lips. "Are you sure? Surely you would like this moment for yourself, a chance with the children, just the three of you?"

Draco shook his head. "Mother, after everything we have been through and the last few weeks, you deserve this just as much as I do. Plus they are insistent. Blaise knows how much you have missed out and how much you longed to dote on a little girl. He would like to introduce you to her."

"When are we supposed to meet them?" She asked, apprehension in her voice.

"In about ten minutes at the Three Broomsticks." Draco said looking down at his watch.

Narcissa paled and began to ramble. "Draco, that is not enough time, I need to get changed, I need to find a gift for Cassie, does she prefer Cassie or can I call her Cassiopeia? Draco, this is not enough time."

Draco chuckled at his mother, never seeing the woman as flustered as she was now. The formidable Narcissa Malfoy nervous to meet an eleven year old girl. Narcissa narrowed her eyes at her son and he immediately stopped.

Draco cleared his throat, "Mother I'm sure it will be fine. I'm not even sure what is going to happen, but we need to tell Scorp what is going on with his mother and I would like you there for that as well. But no gift, we are not trying to buy our way into her life. With Hermione as her mother, I don't think she will receive it as anything but a bribe."

Narcissa swallowed and nodded. She went back to her cottage to collect her cloak and met Draco in the entryway of the Manor. She took his arm and they apparated to Hogsmeade.

OoOoOoO

Blaise and Hermione were sitting in a booth at The Three Broomsticks having a drink when Draco and Narcissa walked in. Blaise, facing the door, smiled at Narcissa as they entered and stood. Narcissa walked over and gave Blaise a hug, trying to convey her thanks in that one gesture.

Hermione stood and gave Draco a small hug, the first real contact they had made with each other in over twelve years. Draco breathed her in deeply, she still smelled the same, after all these years, lavender and honey. He inwardly groaned, he had missed her, Gods had he missed her. For the thirteen years they had been apart, he had given her the briefest of hugs the last time they were together, afraid if he held her for too long, felt her silky smooth skin, he wouldn't have had the strength to break it off with her. He fought the urge to kiss her, it had been thirteen years and they were there for a purpose, one that did not include snogging her senseless.

Hermione was having her own similar battle. She had expected that over the years, he would feel different, his body would have changed, maybe be a bit softer but he was still the same hard bodied man that he was at the age of eighteen. Her hand was shaking slightly, not because they were going to introduce Cassie to her father, but because Draco still had that effect over her. She was almost upset that he hadn't changed, the longing that she had buried with that night, that horrible night was beginning to surface and that scared her. She pulled away and smiled softly and stood by Blaise.

Narcissa smiled over at Hermione. "Ms Granger, thank you for this… this chance to meet my granddaughter."

Hermione smiled back, "Of course, Draco mentioned ah, your run in with husband's portrait and Blaise and I figured it was the least we could do."

Draco and Blaise both chuckled as the four of them left the pub and went to a carriage that was waiting for them. It belonged to the school and was pulled by a skeletal winged horse. Hermione sighed as she sat next to Blaise, he held her hand. Her fingers were cold as he brought them up to his lips. She smiled at her ex. "Why am I nervous?" She asked Blaise, "She already knows he's her father."

"Cara, it will be fine." Blaise comforted his ex-wife.

"May I ask, how is it you two are so close? I've been told that you still act like a loving couple, why not stay married?" Narcissa asked. Draco winced as his heart squeezed uncomfortably. He looked out the window. He knew what his mother was doing, her second agenda, to reunite Hermione and himself. He would have thought she would have been a bit more subtle than to ask straight out.

Blaise grinned. "It certainly seems to be the topic of interest in Britain. It's quite simple though, I will always love Hermione, she is the mother of my children and can never be replaced in my heart. But we were not meant to be, while we love each other, there has always been something missing. Now that we're not together, we actually get along a lot better."

Narcissa smiled, "You do seem to be the minority when it comes to divorced couples. Though, I am surprised it was not front page of the Prophet when you came back to England."

Hermione laughed. "The Prophet won't print anything we don't want them to, especially about myself."

Draco turned to her and remembered his question from the night before. "Why is that? You are a war heroine, why hasn't the Prophet announced your return? You have been home for almost a year and no one knew until you showed on the platform."

Blaise snickered and Hermione grinned. "Well, the children and I live in Muggle London near my parents. I don't venture to Wizarding London much at all, not until Blaise came home as well and we opened our new office in Diagon Alley. But I bought the Prophet when we left Hogwarts, I was tired of them printing lies about Harry, Ron and myself."

Draco laughed, "Is that why Rita Skeeter has to be told what she can print and what she can't?"

Hermione smile brighten. "Ah, well you know that cow loves to tell tales on me. She was writing a book about the three of us, I had found out it was some ridiculous tale of how Harry, Ron and I were in some sort of triadic relationship, well I saw red and I went to her publisher and all other major publishing houses and black balled it. I made it known in all of Europe that if she was able to publish that trash, I would sue them all, I have a detailed account of that year. By then we were engaged to be married and with the Zabini name, we were able to convince them that it was in their best interest not to pursue this book. The Zabini family has many newspapers throughout Europe as well as the ears of many influential witches and wizards in the ministry."

"All this for one journalist? Why would you do that?" Narcissa asked curiously.

"She printed lies about me in 4th year. She thought she could get away with it after the war, she needed to be reminded who I was. Not just any Muggleborn, but the Brightest Witch of the Age. Everyone thought that because I was young that I was naive, they were all mistaken. I proved that to her, her publishers, hell I proved that to the Wizengamot. She hates me, but I don't care, as long as she tows the line."

"You should have been a Slytherin Ms. Granger." Narcissa said with her approval.

Blaise and Draco both chuckled and Hermione flushed. "I tell her that daily." Blaise said giving her hand a squeeze.

"I would tell her the same thing, all those years ago." Draco reminisced, the carriage went silent and Narcissa hid the awkwardness by asking Blaise to tell her more about her granddaughter.

Hermione sighed, it seemed that she would have to talk to Draco soon about their past. Blaise continued to tell Narcissa about Cassie until they reached the gates of the the castle. Walking into Hogwarts, the group of four could hear that it was dinner time and the noise from the Great Hall. This was it.

OoOoOoO

Walking towards the doors, the four of them stood surveying the crowd of students.

Taking a look around the hall, Hermione reminisced how many years ago she had stood right here and nervously waited to be sorted. The Great Hall was still very impressive though seemed smaller than it did when she had been a small little first year. She had a flash of memories flow through her, being sorted, the countless feasts, waking from being petrified, the Yule ball, the Triwizard Tournament, the final battle, and graduation…

Hermione reached back and grasped both men's hands for comfort. She knew Blaise's hand from years of love and marriage.

What had surprised her was the feel of Draco's. That familiar feel of his slender fingers, the way his palm still seem to cradle her's in his. The warmth and security he still held for her, even after all these years, after all they've been through, still comforted her.

Draco squeezed her hand instinctively and he was transported back in time to when they were students, spending time in her dorm… working on their homework, cuddling on her sofa reading, talking, snogging, shagging… She had always been his end in his mind, maybe she could be again.

No, he couldn't think about that. Not now, maybe not ever. He had to remember, he had broken her heart, she might not want to give him a second chance. Draco sighed and squeezed her hand once more, not seeing his mother watching him closely.

Hermione saw a sea of red hair at the Gryffindor tables and then in the middle of it all, her curly blonde haired beauty. The mother smiled. No matter how upsetting the beginning of her pregnancy was with Cassie, she had loved her daughter from the start. She was her saving grace. Cassie and Blaise had kept her sane those first few months.

Draco had caught the eye of the Headmistress and she came down to meet with them. The Headmistress led the four of them to her office then sent for Scorpius and Cassie.

Draco had decided to tell Scorpius about Cassie privately. The father moved into a small chamber on the side of the main office with his mother.

Once the children walked in, Scorpius was ushered into the room where his father and grandmother were waiting.

Cassie on the other hand, took one look at her parents and groaned.

Blaise chuckled at how much Cassie looked like Draco at that moment while still looking like her mother.

"Really mum, do I have to be here for this?" Cassie asked.

Hermione smiled, knowing her daughter was nervous, she was always a smart ass when she was nervous. "Cassie, sit down and bite your tongue."

Cassie grinned at her parents and stuck her tongue out between her teeth and bit. "Ah-kay, na whath?" She mumbled as she held onto her tongue with her teeth.

Blaise and Hermione both laughed at Cassie's cheeky response.

"She gets that from you, Love." Hermione told her ex. He smiled brilliantly in return.

"Actually I got that from Uncle George," Cassie corrected and hugged her parents. She sat down and looked at her mother and father. "So I guess this has to do with Scorpius Malfoy and his father?"

Hermione nodded and tears sprung to Cassie's eyes as she jumped into her father's lap and hugged him tightly.

Tears began to prickle at Blaise's eyes as he shushed his daughter. The love he felt for her never feeling so close to the surface as it did right then.

"Papa, I'm scared." She whispered her fear into his chest. "What if he doesn't like me?"

Blaise rubbed her back soothingly. "Mia dolce ragazza, he already loves you. You don't have to do anything but be yourself. Draco is not a bad guy. I would not let him meet you if he was."

"Uncle Ron says he was." Cassie pointed out. "He also says he was a… well… he says a lot of things about him." Cassie amended. She took notice that her mother turned pink at the knowledge that her friend had spoken badly about Cassie's biological father.

Hermione knelt down in front of her husband and daughter, "Cassie, listen to me. Uncle Ron should never have said anything in front of you about your father. It isn't his place to say anything good or bad." She pushed a stray curl behind her daughter's ear, "You must make your own decisions about him. He has explained why he did things the way he did and none of it has anything to do with you. Uncle Ron and Harry both have a bad history with your father. This started when we were your age. They didn't like your Papa either; not that Papa cared. It's the nature of the houses for them to be at odds and with the war, that didn't help."

"You fell in love with another house." Cassie pointed out and Hermione smiled.

"I did. I fell in love with your father. Then, his best friend. I got you and Marco from those loves."

"But he didn't love you back." Cassie whispered to her mother with tears in her eyes.

"I did." A voice from behind them said. "I love your mother with my whole heart. I put her in danger. Being a Malfoy, it would have put her and you in danger." Draco shoved his hands into his trouser pockets, "I broke up with her. I'm not proud of it, but I would do it again. It kept her safe."

Blaise did not gloss over the fact that Draco said Love, not Loved when he talked about Hermione. He knew his ex wife still loved his friend. While he still cared and loved Hermione deeply, his only wish now was that she was happy.

Cassie looked up. Grey eyes locked with grey eyes. "My parents have always been honest with me. I've always known about you , you never really mattered to me, I've had my Papa and I know he loves me. I don't need you in my life."

Draco nodded, feeling a stab of pain from her words but knowing he deserved them. He noticed that Cassie had the same blank look that all Malfoy's inherited. "I know you don't need me in your life, but I would like you in mine. I know you have a father and a good man as your Papa, he's been my best friend since we were tots. I don't want to replace your dad, but please give me a chance to show you that I care about you."

Cassie narrowed her eyes and said with confidence, "I'm not a Malfoy. I will always be a Zabini."

Blaise chuckled as he remembered his words to his ex on the platform. She was more of a Malfoy than she realised.

Draco smiled at the little girl, her wild curls reminding him of Hermione during their own first year. Draco pulled himself out of his memory and nodded at the little girl.

With the courage befitting her house, Cassie stood up and stuck out her hand. "I'm Cassie."

Draco took her hand and shook. He had wanted to hug the tiny girl, but knew she wouldn't allow it. She was still wary about him. He would not push her into anything that would make her uncomfortable.

"I'm your… I'm Draco." Draco had no idea what to call himself in regards to her. She already had a dad.

Cassie looked around him and saw Narcissa standing there, holding Scorpius around the shoulders with tears in her own eyes. She walked over with her head held high. "Hello, I'm Cassiopeia, you must be Mrs. Malfoy, my paternal grandmother. My Nonna likes to tell me stories of you and of when my Papa and… uh… Mr. Malfoy were kids."

She stretched out her hand to shake Narcissa's and the older woman smiled and took it. "Yes, your Nonna and I are great friends. You are very beautiful, you look like your mother."

Cassie flushed slightly at the compliment. "Papa says that too. Mum says I look like my father."

Narcissa nodded, "You do, but you are your mother's child, your coloring, hair, nose and shape of your face. You have the Malfoy eyes."

"She also has her Draco's temper." Blaise chuckled, "and his ability to annoy the ones closest to him, and-"

"Papa!" Cassie shrieked, stomped back over to her father and smacked him playfully in the arm.

Blaise laughed harder and hugged his daughter, "That, she gets from her mother."

Draco chuckled as Hermione took her own swipe at Blaise. He turned back to Scorpius who had been standing there quietly, still in shock that he had a sibling. "Cassie, I would like to formally introduce you to your half brother, Scorpius."

"Dad, we are in several classes together." Scorpius rolled his eyes told his father. He looked over at Cassie curiously, "So you're my sister?"

Cassie looked at him and nodded. "Half sister, yeah, but don't think that means, I'll do your homework for you Malfoy."

Hermione tried to suppress a smile.

Scorpius scoffed, "Like I need you to do my homework, I'm better at you in class." He stuck his nose up at his new sister.

"You wish! I got an O on that last potion's paper, what did you get? I bet it was a T." She teased.

Scorpius looked affronted. "It was not! I got an O, I'm excellent at potions."

"Maybe, but I'm better."

The adults in the room all began to laugh at the children's banter. They both looked around.

"Merlin, it's like using a time turner." Blaise chuckled. "If Cassie's hair was just a bit darker, this could be our own first year. They even bicker like the two of you."

Cassie rolled her eyes, turned and walked over to the surprise of Narcissa, hugged her new grandmother. Looking up at the older witch she asked. "What should I call you? May I call you Grandmother?"

Narcissa smiled brightly, blinking back the tears in her eyes she nodded. "Yes, I would like that very much." Cassie gave her a squeeze and then walked over to Draco.

Standing tall in front of her father she looked wise beyond her years. "I don't know what to call you either. I won't call you father or Papa or Dad because I just met you. Can I call you Draco?"

Draco nodded, "You may call me whatever you want. I don't want to take anything away from your family, but to add to it. If you and your parents will let me."

Cassie looked up at him again, "I might be ok with that." and gave him a small smile. The Malfoys all sat around the little sitting area of the office and she began to talk with her new family. She was sitting on her father's lap again, like she did when she was a little girl. She had always been a daddy's girl. That fact had not changed.

 **A/N : *Mia dolce ragazza means "My sweet girl" in Italian**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: This chapter is dedicated to cosmosandchaos whose birthday was just a few days ago! Love you lady, thank you for being one of the few that I come to with ideas and helps me fill out the plunnies taking over my head. As always, much love to my beta avis blue of avis1765. I really don't have many notes tonight, but I hope you enjoy.**

 **Much Love and Slyther,**

 **Gimi aka Jess**

The two families spent a bit more time in each other's company. Cassie had been fine with Scorpius, though he was still having a harder time of things. He had just found out after all.

Cassie had always known about Draco and had known Scorpius was her half brother when she found out his name.

Scorpius had more to deal with. His parents were no longer together; not that it mattered. His parents were not a loving couple like his Aunt Pansy and Uncle Theo, but he also had an older sister.

The house system was not as it once had been in Hermione, Draco and Blaise's school days. Students were sorted into houses, but were encouraged to make friends with everyone. Slytherins were no longer considered pureblood snobs, they have had more and more half blood and even muggleborn students sorted in over the years.

Hermione encouraged Cassie to stand by Scorpius, he was going to be seeing things in the paper about his parents marriage and might need her support.

Cassie agreed; her eyes lighting up as her little mind worked.

Hermione, sensing trouble, in her stern mother voice said, "Cassie, no writing to your Uncle George and asking for reinforcements of any kind from his shop."

Her eyes fell a bit, "But mum, we might need it! You never know."

Draco and Blaise both smirked at Hermione and she rolled her eyes. "Yes, well I forbid you from owling George and asking for help from the shop."

Cassie groaned, then stopped suddenly and Hermione could see the wheels turning and decided she didn't feel like getting floo calls about her daughter and put a stop to it. "I also forbid you to ask your cousins as well as asking Ginny or Ron and I also forbid you from asking Uncle George for products still in the design stages."

Cassie's eyes really did fall this time and she even stomped her foot as her mother closed all her loopholes. There was no one else to ask. Uncle Harry wouldn't send her anything and the rest of her uncles, well all of them really, were _scared_ of her mum.

"Mum, that's not fair, you got in all sorts of trouble when you were at school." Cassie began to argue, "I've heard the stories from Uncle Ron, you and Uncle Harry snuck out a dragon your first year!"

"I knew you had a dragon!" Draco chuckled. "I got detention for telling the truth and you and Potter had a bloody dragon!"

"Yes, well if you _remember_ , you were a prat while we were in school" Hermione retorted. "You were trying to get us in trouble. Which you did and poor Neville as well."

"See mum," Cassie cut in before Draco could respond. "Nothing I could do my first year can compare to yours. I'm an angel compared to you and Uncle Harry and Ron."

Hermione chuckled and kissed her daughter on the head, "You are an angel Love, but you are also your father's daughter and both of them are Slytherins. Blaise didn't get into much trouble in school, but Draco was a right pain in the arse. Between him and I, I have to make sure you aren't expelled."

Cassie snickered. "If you didn't get expelled with Uncles Harry and Ron for everything you all got into, I'm pretty sure I'm safe. I'm not the one who polyjuiced into a…" One look from her mother and Cassie closed her mouth as Blaise barked out laughing.

Cassie looked up at her parents and beamed.

Hermione laughed, "You are a cheeky little girl aren't you?"

Cassie grinned and hugged her mother, "Of course I am, I'm a Zabini!"

Blaise just shook his head, marvelling at his beautiful daughter.

Times like this, she reminded him so much of Draco. They had gotten into a lot of trouble growing up and she had the same smile as him in these types of situations. Blaise really didn't have it in him to be stern with her when she was just being a kid, something that Draco and Blaise didn't have the luxury of.

Blaise and Hermione had both decided that they would not be raising snotty little prats, in the words of Hermione, but children who had actual childhoods. There was no dressing in fine clothes for family dinners, or stiff dance lessons or pureblood etiquette lessons. It took a lot of discussions and brow beating to convince Eliana Zabini that the children's happiness came first, etiquette could come later.

"Sweet Salazar, she sounds just like Scorpius," Narcissa mused, noticing the little ways her grandchildren resembled each other and their father.

"Papa always tells me that I sound _like_ …" Cassie looked over at Draco, he was staring at her, drinking her in like she was a figment of his imagination, "Uh… he says I sound like _you_ actually."

Draco smiled at her. He was grateful that Blaise and Hermione kept him a part of her life, even though, they both had every reason to hate him. He would not have been surprised if they had kept him from her, but it looked like she knew a lot about him already.

"What else do you know about my dad," Scorpius wondered. "I mean, he didn't know about you, why did your parents tell you about him?"

Cassie looked over at her half brother and with a look of sadness said, "They wanted me to know who I was. I was teased a lot growing up. I look nothing like my papa so of course, I was an easy target. Mum and Papa wanted me to know who my family was, who I looked like, and why I do some of the things that I do." She twisted her lips into a grin. "Papa would tell me stories about when they were kids, the trouble they would get into. Mum would tell me stories about how mean he was to her in school, but also about how much she loved him."

Draco felt a stab of pain upon hearing that.

"They never lied to me. They would tell me good and bad. Papa would tell me about the time he and Draco would sneak out of Grandmother's parties and drink in the garden until Draco was so pissed he dove into the pond in his robes and almost drowned because of the grindylows."

Hermione huffed, not knowing about this story.

Narcissa sniggered at the bright pink blush that covered her son's face.

"Or the time that Mum slapped him in third year, how Draco went on raving about it all summer." Blaise chuckled at that story;remembering that summer very well. He had taken the mickey out of Draco for months for getting Muggle-slapped by Hermione.

"My parents have told me a lot about what it was like to grow up during the last war. The _good_ and the bad." Cassie continued, her voice was full of sorrow. "They told me about the names mum was called... The deaths of my uncles. Even the hard decisions people had to make." She looked at Draco and Narcissa, eyes filled with sadness, "But also the changes people went through afterwards. I know, I'm only eleven and most people would want to shield me from all of it, but as mum always said, if she could face a troll and live to tell the tale, then I can listen to a few stories. _But_ I have to ask you a question, if I can Draco?"

"You can ask me anything you want Cassie." Draco told her with a small smile. He had hoped she would ask him everything, tell him all there was to know about herself. Things he should have already known about her, because he should have been in her life, should have been a part of her life. Astoria took that away from him… _That_ _damn bitch._

Cassie regarded him, trying to gauge what to ask him, she really was too smart for her own good. "My mum loved you before she loved my Papa. My parents loved each other very much, but I think she's always loved you at the same time. Did you love my mum even though you got married to Scorpius' mum?"

The tension in the room was thick. Blaise saved Draco from answering his daughter, " _Cara_ , that is not an easy question to answer in the short time we are here today. It is getting late. Scorpius and you have to get back to your common rooms and get your homework taken care of. Draco will answer your questions next time we see you ok?"

Cassie frowned. She had really wanted to know if Draco loved her mum. She had never heard the story of their break up, but she knew it had to have been bad. Every time she had asked her mum about how her parents got together, her mum would get a far off look and have to leave the room.

Blaise had finally told her it was a hard subject and one day mum would be able to talk about it, that it was something she was too young for.

"Yes, love, it's time for you to go back to your common room, go finish your homework and spend time with your cousins. Let them know what is going on and Cassie, _please_ ," Hermione was saying to her daughter as she gave her a final hug, " _Please_ do not do anything rash. I don't want any floo calls about you disrupting class. Do not think that just because Uncle Harry, Uncle Ron and I got away with things that you will be above the rules."

Cassie rolled her eyes.

Blaise looked her in the eyes, "I don't want to hear about my little girl resorting to Muggle fighting either young lady. Your mother may have gotten away with a few punches in school, but you are a _Zabini_ and we don't brawl."

"One kid and I will never live it down. He was taunting Marco if you remember. I wasn't going to let him get away with that." Cassie argued, not noticing the expressions of astonishment on the Malfoy's faces.

"What did you do?" Scorpius asked.

Cassie turned to her half brother, "He was making fun of Marco, no one makes fun of my brother but me and _maybe_ our cousins. So I punched him in the nose. Bled all over my hand, it was a bit gross, but he never stepped foot near the playground or made fun of us again."

"Cassie, he was two years older than you and a Muggle, we do not condone fighting, especially with Muggles, since I'm pretty sure you added an extra punch to your hit. You were only ten at the time."

Cassie looked at the ground, a small grin on her face.

Hermione groaned, "What did you do?"

"I might have used one of Uncle George's Power Punch Gloves, he had sent me a set when I told him about the kids teasing my brother."

"What is a Power Punch Glove?" Scorpius asked excitedly.

"It's an invisible glove you put on and it gives you three times the strength for one hit. It's suppose to be for witches or wizards who lose their wand in a struggle or something," She turned to her parents, "He sent it to me for protection Mum, because Marco needed me."

"I'm going to kill George." Hermione whispered into Blaise's ear. He just chuckled.

She looked at him incredulously.

He shrugged, "It was two years ago. You remember that Muggle Love, the kid was the size of the knight bus picking on a seven year old. She didn't use magic."

Hermione had opened her mouth to protest but, Blaise held up his hand, "She didn't, the charm was on the gloves, there was no misuse of magic, which is what I'm guessing was Cassie's thinking. She really is too smart for her own good. Besides, we can't punish her for something she did two years ago to protect her brother. You punched Draco for less in third year."

"I punched him because he's an idiot." Hermione argued. Blaise grinned at his ex, the pink flush of her anger reminding him how beautiful she was when she was passionate.

He kissed her on the forehead and Cassie smiled.

Hermione's hard grimace slackened a bit, " _No_ , no you don't Blaise Zabini. You will not sweet talk your way out of this, she should be punished for that."

"It's two years too late Love, besides, she's at school. What are you going to do? Send her to bed without supper? Make her write lines? _I will not defend my brother?_ Hermione, there is no point, it is moot now."

Hermione huffed and made the mistake of looking at her daughter's smug smile. She bit back a smile, she looked so much like her father in that moment, she wanted to scream. "Damn you Zabini, I will hex you."

Blaise kissed her on the cheek, "I know Love, I'm sure it'll be something to look forward to. Just to remind you though, Cassie was only nine, take your anger out of George, he's a grown man and condoning Muggle violence."

Hermione smiled, "Oh, I will and I will also tell Susan about that spot just behind…"

Blaise smacked a hand on her mouth and shook his head no while Hermione's eyes filled with glee and mischief.

"You will tell her nothing of the sort Ms. Granger. I know where you live and I know how to get you back. I've already told you, Susan does not need your help figuring out way to torture me. You may only relay messages of love or I will get you back. I am a Slytherin, I have ways." He released her mouth and kissed her cheek.

Hermione smirked, "Do not think that you are the sly one in the family Blaise Zabini, you should know better than that. Plus, the Weasleys like me better and George is ten times the Slytherin as you alone."

Blaise laughed, "That is cheating Love, you know you can't bring in reinforcements in Zabini Wars."

Hermione chuckled, "You always say that but you bring the kids in all the time. Talk about cheating, I can't hex my children, you play dirty."

Scorpius leaned over to his sister, "Why did your parents divorce? They seem happy like this."

Cassie shook her head sadly. "They were happy, but they are happier a part. My parents are weird, getting divorced made them go back to being the best of friends. Sometimes it just isn't meant to be. I like them like this, I'd rather they be happy like this then sad together. Plus, I really like my Papa's new girlfriend. She's nice and her son is nice to my brother."

Hermione smiled at her daughter and held open her arms, "When did you get so wise my little Cassie?"

Blaise laughed, "'Mione, you were thirty when you were eleven, Cassie does not surprise me at all."

Draco watched the family exchange with a dull ache to his heart. He couldn't help feeling jealousy towards his friend and his ex girlfriend. Blaise had lived the life he had imagined for himself with Hermione. He raised Draco's daughter, he had her love and adoration and even divorced, he _had_ Hermione.

Hermione looked over her daughter's shoulder and saw Draco watching her and their daughter. _Merlin, I haven't thought of that in a long time. Draco and my daughter…_ she mused. She had long ago stopped thinking of Cassie as Draco's, but always Blaise's. Now he was back and that meant a whole new set of rules. She smiled at him and his lips upturned just a bit before he glanced down at his son and gave him a hug.

Whispering to Scorpius, he gave him a pat on the back as Scorpius went to hug his grandmother and left the office.

Cassie gave her father a hug and then walked up tentatively to Narcissa and wrapped her arms around the older witch.

"Goodbye Grandmother, may I write to you?"

Narcissa couldn't hold back her tears, "Yes darling, please write as often as you'd like. You know, my son never wrote to me when he went to school. It probably wasn't proper to write to his mother, but I will cherish anything you send me. Look out for my own owls, I do send quite lovely packages as both of your fathers can attest to."

Cassie's eyes lit up and she gave Narcissa another squeeze. Letting go of her grandmother, she walked over to Draco. Looking at him, she looked almost afraid. "I don't know how to feel about you. I've always known about you and Papa has told me wonderful stories about your childhood. He's told me not so good ones too and mum has always had some stories too, that were not always nice."

Draco nodded, knowing that they would have told her the truth, he was not a nice in the past. _Still wasn't at times._ "You've called my mother mean and nasty things when you were my age, but mum said it was the way you grew up. If you can't love me because I'm a half blood, tell me now. I don't want to be in your life if you can't stand that I'm not pure."

Draco looked at the beautiful little girl standing in front of him. She stood tall and regal, reminding him of his mother in miniature. Her Malfoy mask firmly on, he knew what was behind it; it was the same mask he wore for most of his life. Only leaving it behind those six short months he truly felt that he could be himself and that was when he was firmly in love with Cassie's mother. Behind that mask was a scared little girl, not scared because he would reject her now, but afraid that if she let him in, he would reject her then.

Draco took her hand tentatively and looked her straight in the eyes. "Cassiopeia Zabini, I could care less if you were pureblood, halfblood, born the brightest witch of the age like your mother or born a squib. I know it's hard to believe, but I have loved since the very moment your mother told me you were mine. I wish I could have known you all those years ago, I wish a lot of things had been different and we could have been a family. If we had changed it, I wouldn't have Scorpius, you wouldn't have your brother or your father. We can't change the past, but we can look towards the future. I want you in my life, I want your family to be a part of Scorpius and mine. I don't just want you, I want you all." With that said, Cassie jumped into his arms and hugged him tightly.

"I'm still calling you Draco." She whispered into his ear, "But thank you for saying that." Letting go of her father and walking back to her papa, she grabbed his hand and began to walk towards the door. Stopping and turning back to Draco, "You can write me if you want." She gave Blaise a kiss and a good night and walked out of the office.

Saying goodnight to the Headmistress, the four adults all walked out of the castle.

Hermione couldn't help but look over to the lake. The sun had set and the moon was out, the coolness in the air and she had been transported back in time. It did not feel like that long ago when she was at school herself, studying in the same common room as her daughter, fighting for her life on these very grounds. Hermione shivered as that last thought crossed her mind, standing on the very steps she was walking down, as Voldemort proclaimed Harry dead. Narcissa Malfoy standing behind him, looking for her son in the crowd. Seeing Harry's body being held by Hagrid. Those images would always haunt her, she knew it was going to be a bad night.

She stopped in the middle of the stairs and sat down. Blaise knowing what was happening stopped and pulled her into his lap while the Malfoys looked on curiously. Tears sprung into her eyes and she couldn't help but let them fall.

Blaise smoothed her hair and rocked her back and forth, " _Shhh_ , sweetheart, nothing bad is happening, nothing bad will ever happen to you again. Come on baby, come back to me." He whispered into her ear, "Nothing bad is happening okay? Come on Hermione, come back. It's been a long day, let's go home. I'll floo Susan and reschedule our date."

Hermione shook her head and sniffled. "No, you will go on your date. You will no longer delay your life because I'm a basket case." She swiped her tears away and kissed her best friend on the cheek. "You will go out with Susan and have a marvelous time, remembering all details to tell me tomorrow. _Except_ for whatever goes on behind closed doors. We may be friends, but I don't want to be reminded of what I'm lacking right now." She gave him a watery smile and Blaise barked out laughing.

"Well you know, you _could_ always join…" He wagged an eyebrow at her.

Hermione punched him in the arm, he grinned and held his arm as she stood up, " _Ow_! _Witch_! I was going to say, you could always join us for dinner. You have a dirty mind Granger, I always knew that about you."

She rolled her eyes, knowing full well, that was _not_ what he was going to say.

She looked over at the Malfoys, "I'm sorry, the day has been full of emotions and being here, on these steps, another memory full of more emotions." She explained as Blaise handed her a handkerchief and she began to wipe her face.

Narcissa nodded and stepped close to Hermione. "I understand, it is hard to be here in this spot. I will never fully know what it must have been like for you, just as you can not know what it was like in our home with that _thing_ either. That was a day I would like to forget, but know it is better to live through it then to pretend it does not exist." Narcissa laid a hand on Hermione's shoulder, "Ms. Granger, please accept my deepest apologies for whatever my family had put you through. I know it is of little help now, so many years later, but I know now that none of it matters. Blood does not matter, Your daughter is a testament that the world does not end if ideals are shattered. I had never believed with the zealous that my husband did in the ways of blood purity. I grew up knowing one way and I am not above saying that I was wrong. I know that if we had known about Cassie all those years ago. I would have killed my husband myself before he harmed a hair on your or her heads. You might not think it to look at me, but I am much more formidable than my husband."

Hermione smiled, "I know, you are a Black. There are times where the resemblance between you and Andy is very pronounced. Family means everything to you as it does to me." Hermione took Narcissa's hand off her shoulder and gave it a squeeze.

The four of them continued walking towards the gates where they would be able to apparate. Narcissa holding onto her son's arm, Hermione with her arm around Blaise. Once at the gate, Narcissa bid farewell, giving Blaise a kiss on the cheek and Hermione a hug, she waved away her son's chivalry to see her back to her cottage.

Blaise turned to Hermione, "Would you like me to see you home? Harry and Ginny took Marco for the evening. He and Hugo are having a sleepover with Lily."

Hermione smiled and shook her head, "No Blaise, go meet Susan. I am a big girl, I will find my own way home. I think I need to walk for a bit. It's been a long day."

Blaise smiled and gave her another kiss on the cheek and turned to Draco.

"I, _uh_ …" Draco looked at Hermione, "Do you mind if I walk with you? It's been a long day for me as well. I could use a drink or _forty_."

Hermione chuckled, "That is fine. See Blaise, I'll be fine, anything happens, I'll just push Draco and run."

Blaise laughed and gave her one final hug and smiling at his old friend and ex wife, he disapparated.

Looking over at Draco, Hermione gave him a smile. They both were a bit nervous. They began the walk to town, chatting about little things over the years. This was the first time they had been completely alone with everything out in the open. She knew why he did what he did. He knew he had a daughter. But the one thing she didn't know was why her stomach was doing flips. It had been thirteen years; those grey eyes, those eyes that she had seen so many times on her daughter - could still make her stomach dance.

That was when she knew, no matter how it had ended, how much she had loved Blaise and her family; No matter how much time had passed… She was still in love with Draco Malfoy.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Happy Saturday to all!. So I'm posting this as I sit in the grocery store parking lot. I could have waited, but whoever wants that? Just a short chapter, but if I would have continued it, the chapter would be too long. I know that wouldn't be a problem, but oh well, maybe I'll get chapter 12 up sooner. Thanks to my beta, Avis1765 *blue. This chapter is for mrsaturtle who read through all of Cassie in one day & made my day for her reviews. **

**Love & Slyther,**

 **Gimi aka Jess**

 **OoOoOoO**

"Blaise, I'm in love with Draco," Hermione blurted out a few weeks later during lunch. The two of them were sitting at the Leaky Cauldron catching up on the previous week's business and Hermione could not hold it back.

Blaise, putting down his sandwich, sat back in his chair and just grinned like a school boy seeing his first boob, "I feel like this is where the resounding _duh_ comes in. I've been telling you for years that you were not over Draco."

Hermione rolled her eyes at her ex husband's easy tone, "Well it's easy to ignore when we're not in contact."

Blaise conceded that point, "Well what are you going to do about it?"

Hermione shook her head, "Nothing, what do you mean what am I going to do about it? It's been a long time."

Blaise looked at her like she grew a second head, "Hermione, I love you, I do. You are my best friend and have been for thirteen years, but sometimes you are as thick as your Ron. Draco still loves you. Anyone who has been around the two of you can see it."

"Blaise what can I do? It's not like I can go to his office and jump him, what if you're wrong, what if he's just nice to me because of Cassie? After all we've been through, I don't think I could do that again."

"Hermione, sweetheart, he loves you. Take it from someone who has also loved you, he does." Blaise confirmed, "You have not been watching him when we are all together. He drinks you in like you're made of amortentia." Hermione turned pink, Blaise just laughed and kissed her on the cheek. "You are so adorable when you get embarrassed. But I've known the man for over thirty years, he can't hide from me."

"Blaise, after all we've been through, I don't know if I can put myself out there like that. Besides, he just ended his marriage, I don't think either of us are ready for that."

Blaise didn't say anything else, just finished his lunch. Hermione headed back to the office after she finished eating and Blaise just sat there for a bit longer. He had told her, he was meeting with Susan for a bit. Really, he was planning on seeing her that evening, but he had an errand to run.

More than an errand, he needed to speak to someone. Walking into Malfoy Inc. He walked up to the receptionist. The witch took one look at the dark man in front of her and took in a breath, heaving her chest up higher. Blaise smirked inwardly while giving the woman one of his most charming smiles.

Getting directions to Draco's office, Blaise winked at the pretty witch and walked towards the lift. He remembered when a pretty woman would have him slow down and flirt, for the last thirteen years, he had become a one witch wizard. Hermione had changed him for the better.

Blaise Zabini was not always the gentleman he was today. Before Hermione, he had a reputation of being a ladies man. He was never with a witch for longer than it took for her knickers to hit the floor and he had reveled in it. He did not limit himself to his house, though he had spent an awful lot of time in his housemates knickers, with exception of Pansy, she was like a sister to him and Daphne because she was always a bit too crazy for his taste.

Gryffindors were the only house not on his radar and that was a matter of house pride, but also none of the girls had ever interested him. Well, maybe that one Patil twin, but she was chatty and Blaise did not really care for chatty, not when all he was after was ass. Gryffindors didn't like Slytherins and the feeling was mutual.

No, Hermione had been the first for him, for a lot of things. His first muggleborn lover, his first real love, his first committed relationship and it was all because of Draco. His friend was the reason he ever looked at Hermione in the first place.

Unlike Draco, he could care less about _The Golden Trio_. He was smart enough, he never aimed to be the best in class nor did he have the need to antagonise Potter, that was always his best mate. Blaise stuck to himself and flirted with the girls, for years that was his life, homework and snogging girls, then in later years, shagging. It was only when Draco and he went back after the war, back for their 7th year. After his friend started spending time with Hermione, started changing for the better, that he had noticed the difference one special person could have on you.

Falling for Hermione Granger was not in his plans, he was young, only eighteen. He was not planning on falling for his best mate's ex-girlfriend and raise his child. He hadn't planned on marriage for a long time, but love for the muggleborn crept upon him slowly. One day they were sitting in her common room studying for NEWTs and the next they were proclaiming feelings that weren't there the day before. She had fought him on it, she was wary of love so quickly. She questioned it for months, did that mean she didn't love Draco? Was she a slag? Why did Blaise love her? Was it only because she was pregnant? Why? How? When? So many questions, Blaise had to snog her to shut her up.

Blaise had his own questions, but his were easy to answer, he loved Hermione because she was Hermione. She was kind, not like any other girl he had been with, she cared about him and not just his cock (she hadn't even seen it yet) or his money. She didn't want to come between Draco and him, she didn't want him to take care of her, she could take care of herself.

That was what he loved about her the most, that she could take care of herself, but let him take care of her when he thought she needed it. Hermione was strong, one of the strongest women he knew, but she felt safe enough with him to be vulnerable and that was an honor. That was when he knew he loved her.

Blaise took the lift to the top floor and walked out, seeing Draco's assistant was at her desk, he walked up, intent to asking if he was in, when Theo walked out of what looked like Draco's office.

"Blaise, what are you going here?" The wizard asked his old friend. Draco walked out of the office with a rolled parchment in his hand.

"Miss Kempt I need this…" Draco looked up to see Blaise smiling at him. "Blaise? Is everything okay? Cassie?"

"Cassie is fine, but I do need to talk to you." Blaise said. Theo just stood there with a goofy grin on his face. He had just put it together that they share a child.

Theo grabbed the scroll and handed it to the assistant, "Miss Kempt please send this to the Ministry. Then take a late lunch."

The assistant smiled, took the scroll and left. Theo grinned and turned to his friends. "Isn't this the kneazle's tail. Daddy one and Daddy two together again."

"Shut up and get the fuck out Theo," Draco groaned as Blaise chuckled. He had missed his old housemates, Theo was always entertaining.

"Come on Draco, Pansy will kill me if I don't get headlines. How's your daughter? Does she like you? Is she like Granger and hexed you yet?"

"Hey now, my Cassie is a lady. She doesn't hex just anyone." Blaise cautioned his friend, "But she is her mother's child and I'm sure her hexes hurt. She did have Harry, Ron and Ginny teach her before she even had a wand. Plus George is always sending her things to test."

"How does Granger feel about that?" Theo inquired.

Blaise grinned, "I think they have a don't ask, don't tell, don't get caught policy right now. Hermione was up to a lot of mischief in school so as long as we don't get owls, I'm fine with it. Though, Cassie is absolutely cunning if someone is about to hurt her family, which is why Hermione told her no in defense of Scorpius. If we didn't, Cassie would send someone to the hospital wing without flinching."

Theo was impressed, "Remind me to tell the boys to stay on her good side. I remember Granger in school, they don't need to come home with a tail at Christmas."

"Draco, I need to speak with you." Blaise said chuckling at the thought of Theo's sons having tails. Draco waved him into his office and slammed the door on Theo's face. They heard a brief curse word before Draco threw up silencing and locking charms.

"Theo is going to call Pansy in a second and she will come barging in, she's already upset that she had to see the sacking of Astoria second hand." Draco explained and Blaise laughed again. "What can I do for you Blaise?"

Blaise sat down and stared at his friend, "You can start by telling me how you feel about my Hermione." He stated simply. He watched Draco pale a little, enjoying that his friend was reacting like a frightened first year. He knew his friend loved his ex, but he also knew she was scared of being hurt, this was his way of helping.

Hermione would never broach Draco, she will perpetually be guarding her heart around him, not that Blaise blamed her. Those months after the break up and during her pregnancy, those were not for the faint of heart. No, he would judge for himself if Draco would hurt his ex-wife or if he was ready to give in to the love he plainly still had for her. Hermione would not be hurt by anyone, not if Blaise had anything to say about it, especially not by Draco, not again.

Draco regarded his friend of over thirty years, "What do you mean?"

Being married to a Gryffindor had rubbed off on Blaise, he was short on time and really, he really didn't have the patience for what could be a long winded romance between his ex and his friend. "I mean, do you _love_ her? Do you want to be with her? Hermione is very special to me, I will not have you mess with her."

Draco's _Malfoy_ mask was up, his face gave away nothing to the untrained eye. Blaise had known that mask for many years, even with their temporary intermission in their friendship, he could see behind it. Draco was scared. He was scared to let his feelings show again, feelings of love at least. He had no problem showing feelings of disdain or loathing, but love and vulnerability? Those are not typical emotions for a public Malfoy. He had let it go, all those years ago, just to have to brick it back up. Blaise wasn't sure he was ready to let it back down yet.

Blaise sighed and looked his blond friend in the eye, "Draco, you and I have been friends for many years. Even when I wanted to _avada_ you for what you did to her, I was still your friend. I fell in love with Hermione because she deserved someone who loved her wholly, she still does. If you can be that man, the man she loved and still loves, then you need to show her. She deserves to be whole again."

Draco was confused, Blaise was clearly in love with Hermione, but he was telling him to love Hermione again. Giving him permission to court his ex wife. "I am not good enough for her, not after what I did to her."

"You are good enough, you are what she wants. She has been in love with you for years, she never stopped. While I have no doubts that she loved me, she never loved me as deeply as she loved you."

Draco wasn't sure what to do with that information, his heart jumped at the mention that Hermione loved him still, but the part of him that was intent on torturing his soul because of the way he ended it with her. His brain knew he had to do it that way but his heart said he was undeserving. "Why are you doing this? Why did stay with her and raise a child who wasn't yours?"

Blaise looked at his friend, he could see the storm brewing in his friend, it was the same storm that he had seen in Hermione, the regret, the loathing, the love, the hate. The emotions were quite easy to read in a person's eyes if you know what you're looking for. The Malfoy Mask might be on, but you can always tell a person's troubles in their eyes. "I'm here because I love her. I've loved her since we were in school, I think I might even have fallen for her the night she told me she was pregnant. She was determined to keep the baby, she would have done it on her own. We moved to New York because she needed to be far away from this life. I was not going to let her do it alone." Blaise sighed, "She depended on me by then and Merlin knows, I loved it. I loved feeling needed and wanted. In all my life, no one had ever needed me, not like she did. She needed me but wasn't clingy, she pushed me back towards you but you didn't need me, you had Pansy and Theo and Astoria, but she needed me. It took some convincing for her to marry me, she didn't want me to marry her because of duty towards you, she didn't believe me that I was in love with her, it hadn't been that long after your break up and she was scared."

Blaise stood to leave, "She's still scared. She is scared that she loves you but you will hurt her again." Face to face with his friend, "If you love her, tell her. Be with her, all I want is for her to be happy, but I swear to Salazaar, if you hurt her again. I won't have to avada you, I will murder you with my bare hands. She deserves to be loved the way you loved her back in school, the way I loved her for many years, but she will only love you that way, so make this second chance count." With that he gave his friend a nod, dropped the wards on the room and left for his office.

Draco decided to take the rest of the day off, he had a lot of thinking to do. He had taken his talk with Blaise to heart and for once in his life there was nothing stopping him from being with the woman he had been dreaming of for the past thirteen years. He was determined not to fuck it up.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: This chapter was a bit of work, I wrote about half of it and the muse decided that it wanted to go a different direction so I had to scrap a good portion of it and start again. This chapter is dedicated to a good friend whose birthday is today, Aimi! Happy Birthday Aimi, I hope it was a great day. Thanks to AvisBlue for betaing once again. I am so grateful.**

 **Peace, Love and Slyther,**

 **Gimi aka Jess**

"I don't know why you had to tell the bloody Ferret anything at all," Ron Weasley droned on for the sixth time that evening.

Hermione was hosting an early dinner for her friends at her home while Marco was at his dad's for the weekend.

Ron's wife, Lavender gave Hermione a sympathetic look. The two women had long put their past behind them. Ron had seen her during that final battle: Fenrir Greyback was just about to bite out her jugular when Hermione blasted him off of Lavender. That was the day Ron realised that he still cared for his ex-girlfriend. Even after the war, he would visit Lavender at St. Mungo's as well as at her home.

Hermione and Ron had tried to start a relationship once the battle and fighting had been done, but they could only make it work for a better part of a month before Ron realised he didn't just care for her, but that he was in love with Lavender. Knowing they weren't suited for each other and wanting her best friend to be happy, Hermione happily stepped aside for Lavender, well, that and she was had also realised that kissing Ron was like kissing Harry. Besides, soon she was at Hogwarts and with Draco, it all worked out for the best.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Because he's her father Ron."

Ron shook his head in disagreement, "No, as much as I hate to admit it, Zabini is her father. He was there. He's never hurt you."

Hermione's eyes softened. She went over and gave her friend a hug, "I love you Ron and you're right. Blaise _is_ her father." she patted Ron's shoulder and let out a soft sigh. "Draco is her blood."

Ron opened his mouth to argue again, but Hermione put her finger on his mouth and continued, "No, I'm not talking about blood purity, that is rubbish, but he is a part of her. He is half her genes. I see him in her eyes, her mannerisms, her temperament. Cassie deserves to know her biological father as well as her half brother."

Ron hugged her tightly, "He doesn't deserve her. She is happy Hermione, she doesn't need him."

Hermione looked at her friend, knowing he meant well, but didn't understand. "She needs to make that decision. It is up to Cassie if she wants to get to know him. He wants to know her. You know Blaise and I would never let him near her if he didn't. I know you never knew of my relationship with Draco, but it is what it is. If Cassie wants to know her father, her biological father, we can only support her."

Ron nodded, resigned that his best friend was right, like always. "I know, it's up to Cassie, she's so young 'Mione, I am afraid for her, I don't want her hurt or to feel abandoned. I will kill the ferret if he hurts her. If he hurts you."

Hermione smiled and gave him another hug, Harry, walking in from the dining room, saw his friends and jumped in yelling 'Mione sandwich!' like when they were kids. Ginny and Lavender both rolled their eyes and chuckled at the two men that were suffocating their best friend. They had learned years ago that however odd the trios friendship, it was for life.

Hermione was laughing uncontrollably by now, her two friends tickling her sides. "Stthhaapp," Hermione begged, "GGGinnn, hheellpp, Lav, PUHLEASE!" Harry and Ron were both tickling her with no mercy before Gin and Lav, laughing themselves, pulled their husbands away from Hermione and she fell onto the sofa behind her. The five friends continued their evening talking about their children, the antics going on at Hogwarts and the new development of Cassie and Scorpius.

Reminiscing of their own time at Hogwarts, Hermione had to admit, there wasn't much Cassie could do to top what the three of them got away with, but then again, they didn't have George Weasley as a supplier and the mind of a Slytherin. Cassie had developed both her mother's bravery and the sly cunning of her Draco and Blaise. This combination really just means that Cassie is destined to be more work for the professors of Hogwarts than her mum and uncles.

An owl flew into her living room as the friends were sitting there. It was a letter from Cassie. Hermione read the note from her daughter, her eyes narrowing. Harry and Ron saw the face she was making and knew something was bothering her.

"What's wrong 'Mione?" Harry asked.

"How can he think this is okay?" Hermione fumed. She stood up and began to pace, dropping the note. Harry picked it up and read it.

"'Mione, it's just one day, she would only miss the feast." Harry reminded his friend.

"She didn't even ask both of us Harry," Hermione said, voice rising, "She asked the easy parent, damn Blaise. He should know better."

"He wouldn't do anything to upset you," Harry swallowed hard at the look of anger Hermione gave him, "Okay, he probably doesn't think it's a big deal. Look, we'll all go, you can pick out costumes and we'll take the kids around for candy. It'll be fine"

Hermione grabbed some floo powder and called out "Blaise Zabini residence!" and disappeared.

Harry shot up, "Oh shite!" He took out his wand, " _Expecto Patronus!"_ Quickly he spoke, "Blaise, mate, Hermione knows!" and off his stag ran through the night, Harry hoped he would get the message before Hermione landed in the floo or his old friend was in trouble.

Ron, Lavender and Ginny all sat there, not sure exactly what was going on and Harry began to explain what was going on. The four of them began to laugh and wished their slytherin friend luck. They all knew, there was nothing scarier than Hermione when she was mad.

 **OoOoOoO**

Blaise had been sitting with his own Slytherin friends and Susan. The men were playing a game of billiards when Harry's patronus came flying in, "Hermione knows!" Was all Blaise heard. If Blaise had been lighter skinned, his friends would have been able to see the blood run out of his face as he began to think of what he had done lately to anger his ex.

Theo chortled, "Blaise, was that Potter's patronus?" when the chime from the floo rang, alerting him that someone had come through.

"Fuck!" Blaise hissed and Theo and Draco were surprised to hear a shout of "Blaise Zabini! Get your arse down here!"

Blaise hung his head, knowing he was in for a bit of a row with Hermione.

"Excuse me everyone, I've been summoned." Blaise said wryly and walked out of the room.

"Blaise, why did I get a letter from Cassie saying I would see her at Halloween? Halloween is a Monday Blaise, she has classes the next day!" Hermione fumed at him.

Blaise blew out a breath, "Hermione, it's Halloween, it's tradition. Marco and she want to go trick or treating together. Of course I told her she could come."

Hermione glared at him, he was being too calm, "Blaise she has classes, she can't come home just because it's Halloween."

Blaise stared at his ex, not giving in, "Hermione, they have never been apart for Halloween, it was your stupid idea to start this family tradition in the first place. Treat Halloween like the muggles do. Bring in traditions from both worlds, well we aren't going to stop this just because she is at Hogwarts. McGonagall already gave permission for her and Scor to come."

"What does Scorpius have to do with this?"

"Draco said he could come, she asked him in her last letter. To spend the holiday with both her brothers."

Draco gulped when he heard his name. Theo chuckled and Pansy laughed silently as well.

"So I'm the last one to know what is going on? It's nice to be included in our little family tradition." Blaise could almost see the steam coming out of her ears and knew she was going to blow soon. He should have known better than to remind her it was her idea or call it stupid.

"Hermione, it's just one night, the kids will be going back to school at dusk, flooing to the Head's office, what is the big deal?"

Tears began to flow down her cheeks, "The big fucking deal Blaise Zabini is that I was not included in the planning of this little family tradition. Cassie is my daughter too and I am just a fucking afterthought. Oh, I should let mum know I'll see her soon, not asking at all if it's ok because Papa already said she can go!" She looked over to the side and saw the group of Slytherins and Susan watching guiltily, "Sorry to interrupt your party, but you should have told me what was going on and not as an afterthought. They are my kids too Blaise, just because you're the _fun_ Papa doesn't mean mum has to be the hard arse."

Blaise exhaled, feeling guilty, he knew she had a point "I'm sorry Love, you're right. We should have talked about it. I didn't think it would be a problem, the kids do it every year and this is the first year we aren't together, I thought it would be nice to keep the tradition. I didn't think it would be an issue. I should have told her to run it pass you as well." He walked up to her and rubbed her arms. "I'm sorry, it'll be fun though. The kids will get dressed up and Marco will meet Scor, it'll be fun."

Hermione's wheels began to turn, "Fine, it's fine Blaise, but you will make it up to me. Harry and Ron will be coming with us, Lily and Hugo are Marco's best friends and we are all wearing costumes."

Blaise shook his head violently, "No Hermione, I will not be wearing a costume, besides, we aren't a couple anymore." He pointed out.

Hermione grinned, "You have to, it's _tradition._ We take the kids and dress up, but we aren't doing couple costumes."

Blaise sighed in relief and Hermione grinned even broader. "Susan, would you and Owen like to come trick or treating with us? You can dress up with Blaise. It'll be fun!"

"NO!" Blaise yelled and Hermione nodded her head, Susan laughed and agreed. Blaise groaned, his wife was mean. "You are an evil woman."

Hermione grinned, "It won't be so bad Blaise dear, I promise. Beauty and the Beast, that was Cassie's favorite princess and Susan will make a beautiful Belle! We still have the costume! I'll even invite Landon to come! He will love it, we can go out after the kids are done. Please Blaise, you know you want to. That Belle costume still transfigures into something later" She hinted, appealing to her ex's imagination. His eyes glazed over and she knew he was remembering and picturing Susan in it.

"I don't want to, I hate dressing up." Blaise groaned though he knew he would cave and give her what she wanted. He thought as they were no longer a couple he wouldn't have to do couple costumes, but she even found a way around that. He would get her back. "Fine, I will dress up. Draco has to as well. Seeing as Scorpius is coming with us, it's even more fitting as they are now apart of the family." He grinned as Draco began to protest but Pansy put her hand over his mouth, laughing at his new predicament.

Hermione wiped her tears and smiled over at the group, "I'm sorry to barge in on your evening. Theo, Pansy, you are more than welcome to join us for Trick or Treating or even just to go out that evening after the kids are done."

Pansy agreed over Theo's objections and Hermione made plans to go with Pansy, Susan, Ginny and Lav to go shopping in Muggle London for costumes the following weekend. Throwing some powder into the grate, she gave Blaise a kiss on the cheek and went home. Knowing full well, he would be planning some sort of revenge on her. He really disliked the Beast costume.

It would have been easier to transfigure him, but it ruined the effect so every year he had to put the blasted head on because Cassie loved it. The things he did for his baby girl. He shook his head and walked back over to his friends, enduring all comments about being whipped and so forth.

 **OoOoOoO**

"I can't find anything." Lavender cried. She was standing in a Muggle shop with an odd group of witches.

Ginny and Hermione were not the odd group, but Pansy Nott and Susan Bones, who was dating Hermione's ex husband was slightly off putting. Susan and Hermione were still great friends and that was just weird considering Blaise, but that was not for Lavender to judge.

Pansy was feeling a bit out of place herself. Never had she thought she would be in a position where she would be friends with these particular group of women. But, Hermione was a big part of Blaise's life as was Susan so she would make an effort. At least these two were not as crazy as Astoria and Daphne. Once she got to talking to Hermione during meetings with Theo and Blaise, she realised that she really liked the woman, even if she was a Gryffindor. Susan was a Hufflepuff, a bit friendlier than she was used to, but a nice change from crazy.

Hermione was knee deep in costumes when she spotted a tail, "Oh Ginny, you and Harry can be The Little Mermaid! You would look fantastic!"

Pansy grimaced, "A mermaid Granger? Those things are hideous!" Lavender and Susan both nodded in agreement.

Ginny, who had seen the film before, explained to the witches that muggle ideas of mermaids are not the same as the real thing. Hermione went off and found costumes for the rest of the couples when Ginny asked, "If couple costumes are tradition, what are you going as 'Mione? Are you going to be coupled with your American friend London?"

Hermione laughed and shook her head, " _Landon_ and no, he will not be coming trick or treating with the kids. He doesn't mind kids, but he doesn't want to be over exposed to them either."

Pansy's ears perked up, "Oh, you have a friend coming from the states Granger? Is he your boyfriend?"

Hermione smiled at the thought but shook her head, "No, Landon is just a friend. He's very attractive, but he's not my type."

"What does that mean?" Susan inquired and Hermione laughed.

"I'm just not interested in him that way." No need to mention the man she was truly interested in.

Hermione shuffled through the costumes in the shop as the other women began trying some on. After a few hours, they were all happy with the costumes they found. The ladies all disapparated to the Leaky Cauldron for a spot of lunch.

"Hermione, you never answered, what are you going to be for Halloween?" Lavender reminded her friend as they walked into the pub and sat down.

Hermione just smiled and said she'd figure something out when out of the corner of her eye she noticed a tall blonde glaring at her and her companions walking their way.

Hermione rolled her eyes as Daphne Goyle came walking to their table looking livid.

"You little SLAG! First you trick Blaise into marrying you and then you ruin my sister's marriage!" Daphne roared, not caring that everyone in the pub was watching her with interest.

Pansy looked up to see Daphne seething, "Hello Daphne, darling. How lovely to see you." She said with a smooth and even tone, but Hermione could see her hand slightly shaking towards her stowed away wand.

"How did I ruin her marriage? I never saw her again after school ended, whatever she did to get her marriage annulled is all her doing," Hermione related to the irate witch, "I would watch what you say right now though Mrs. Goyle. Draco has told me about the clause of their annulment. I don't think you would want to cost your family any more financial problems if Draco caught wind of this rather public tantrum you are throwing."

"Hiding behind Draco now are we?" Daphne taunted, "First Blaise sullied himself with your filth and now you have moved on to my sister's ex? You are disgusting, you filthy little _MUDBLOOD_."

The entire pub went silent, Pansy, Ginny and Lavender all brandished their wands and stood in front of their friend. Hermione stood up slowly and put an arm out to her friends before turning to Daphne with a calm exterior.

Walking right up to the blonde woman, Hermione noticed Daphne was a few inches taller than her five foot seven frame. Standing right in front of the woman, Hermione smiled, "Do you think that that word has _any_ effect on me? I've been called that since I was twelve years old, by many people. People more frightening than you and you know, that word means less than nothing to me."

Hermione inched impossibly closer and Pansy could swear she grew taller than Daphne as Daphne inched back and hit a table, "I am the brightest witch of our age, I can run circles around your spell work without breaking a sweat and possibly without speaking. I have been in battle since I was eleven years old, dodging death more times than should be allowed and I still came out on top. Do you really think, I am scared of a sub par witch like yourself?"

Daphne paled and swallowed hard, "You are a slag Hermione Granger." She grunted out, trying to save face. "You think you are better than me, but you had a child out of wedlock, that makes you a slag and a homewrecker."

Hermione just laughed cruelly at the witch, "Is that the best you can come up with? I'm a slag because I had a child out of wedlock? I can count how many men I have been with on two fingers, not hands, fingers. I have only been with two men in my life. Can you say the same thing? You think you're special because you are pureblooded? Just because your family is all related, doesn't make you pure."

Pansy couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her lips,

"How many wizards have taken their turn with you Greengrass? If it's as many as those that claimed to at Hogwarts, that's a fair few. You better leave now or I might have to let that number slip during some function or other." Hermione's eyes narrowed, "See, I am still a Zabini, I am still invited to teas with the high society that wanted me blood on the wall thirteen years ago. I never go because I don't need to feel superior to anyone, but maybe I will and let that number slip to my mother in law, or maybe Lady Goyle." Hermione laughed at the witch in front of her, "Yes, I'm sure Greg's mother would like to know what a slag really looks like."

Hermione stepped back and clasped her hands in front of her, "Good day Mrs. Goyle, I'm sure you have other places to be. I must dash soon after lunch myself. I must talk to Draco about this unfortunate incident." Hermione tutted as she sat back down, her friends all sitting as well. "He will not be pleased that you violated the terms of his contract."

Daphne gulped, "I haven't! I said nothing about the terms of the contract."

Hermione looked at Pansy, "I distinctly heard her talk about my child being born out of wedlock, didn't you?"

Pansy nodded in agreement, a glint in her green eyes, "Seeing as she is also Draco's child and you so callously blurted that out in a busy pub, I'm sure I will let him decide if he wants to take action against your family."

Pansy laughed, "You better hope Draco is feeling gracious Daphne, or you may have to explain to your parents why they lost Greengrass Estate."

Hermione looked down at her menu, "If you don't leave before I look up from my menu, I will have to make good on all my threats. See, I'm not sly about my deception like a Slytherin, I will tell you what I'm doing straight away and do it with a smile. Now leave." Daphne hurried away.

Susan, Ginny and Lavender all looked at Hermione in awe, "Are you really going to tell Draco, Hermione?" Susan asked.

Hermione giggled, "No, I don't like that little twat, but I'm not going to bankrupt her family. If he finds out what happened, it won't be from me." Hermione sang out that last part and Ginny began to laugh. Hermione certainly had changed from the quiet bookworm she once was.

 **OoOoOoO**

Draco stepped out of the fireplace in Hermione's home. He had heard what happened at the Leaky today and wanted to talk to Hermione about it. He had heard from Theo and Pansy about Daphne's display at the pub.

Hermione, hearing the chimes of the floo came walking out of the kitchen, glass of wine in hand. "Draco?" She called out, "What are you doing here?"

"What happened at the pub today?" He asked as he moved towards her, "What did Daphne say to you?"

Hermione laughed, "Nothing I couldn't handle. Don't worry about it." She took a sip of her wine,  
"Did you come all this way to talk about Daphne Goyle?"

"Did she say something to upset you?" Draco asked and she shook her head. He let out a breath of relief.

Hermione giggled, "Draco, were you really upset by Daphne? I've lived through taunts by Pansy and you, I think I can handle Daphne." Hermione took a moment to consider, "Though if I let her continue the line of conversation, I may have slapped her."

Draco grinned, remembering third year for a moment. "I just want that family to leave us alone."

Hermione heard his words and her heart fluttered. She took a moment and looked at this man, she could still see the boy she fell in love with, but this was a man she was not altogether familiar with. She decided it was time to get to know him. Blaise told her to give him a chance. "Would you like to stay for dinner? Marco is just finishing washing up."

Draco jumped in a bit of a shock, "Are… are you sure? I don't want to interrupt a family meal."

"You aren't interrupting," Hermione said coming over and grabbing his hand to lead him into the dining room, "Marco will love it."

Draco stopped mid stride, "Does he know I'm Cassie's father?"

Hermione nodded, "He knows, we don't keep things from our kids. As long as you don't take his Cassie away, he's okay with you being around. Especially because you bring in another boy, that means the boys outnumber the girls in the family," Hermione laughed, "He was very happy about that. With you and Scor, that makes it four to three, including Eliana." Hermione stepped close to Draco, he could smell her perfume, that clean scent of citrus and magnolia blossoms.

Putting her hands on his shoulders, she brought his face down to her, moving forward, she whispered in his ear, "What he doesn't realise is that Narcissa counts as well, so it's even still."

He could taste her scent on his lips, what he wouldn't do to turn his head and kiss her. He had missed her so much over the years, dreaming of her often and here she was. Not a dream, standing in front of him, her petite hands on his shoulders.

Almost unconsciously, he put his own hands on her hips, drawing small circles on her flesh as he realised she was wearing low rise muggle jeans and a fitted three quarter sleeve top that showed a strip of her beautiful skin.

He felt her breath hitch as he turned his grey eyes to her honey colored ones. How had he forgotten the beauty of her eyes. He had thought for years that he had remembered what she looked like at the height of their romance, but now, as she is standing in front of him, he was in awe that his memory of her could not compare.

She took a step forward, almost ghosting her body into his. She could feel her heart thudding in her ears, cancelling out all noise, their faces were close, so very close. She could feel his breath on her cheek. _Fuck it all_ , she thought and brought her head closer, closing the gap between their lips.

Draco's heart fluttered as he pulled her closer, moving his hands to the small of her back. His body moved on its own, memory reflex was a big part of their subconscious moment, working together to deepen their kiss, moving their bodies to find the best position, never wanting to let go.

"MUM, IS DINNER READY?!" Marco's voice cut through them, bringing them out of their trance. They separated, foreheads against each other panting slightly.

Hermione took a step back, instantly feeling cold where their hands disengaged from each other. She shook her head, giving Draco a smile as Marco bounded down the stairs.

"Mum? Oh hi," Marco greeted Draco, "I'm Marco, you look like my sister." The little boy bounced on his heels.

Hermione grinned at her son, "Marco, this is Mr. Malfoy, he is Cassie's biological father."

Marco nodded in acknowledgement, "Hello, does that make you my dad too?"

Draco crouched down on her haunches, "No, but how about we just become friends? That's what Cassie and I are. Cassie already has a dad."

Marco grinned and ran for the dining room. Hermione chuckled and grabbed Draco's hand and they followed her son for dinner.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:**

 **So I'm a bit late on this chapter, I've been working on a marriage law OS for the Wordsmith and Beta group on Facebook and it took a bit of time to churn out. This chapter is half of Halloween, the second half will be up sooner than this one was. Saturday, August 27th was Claireabellalou's birthday so this chapter is dedicated to her. If you don't know Claire, go to her page and read her Dramione,** ** _Say Goodnight and Go._** **It's amazing. Happy Birthday Claire! As always much love to my beta Blue of Avis1675, she is amazing and got this sucker beta'd in no time flat. I hope you enjoy.**

 **Peace, Love, and Slyther,**

 **Gimi aka Jess**

The fireplace roared into life and Cassie came running out quickly as the flames died only to roar up again with Scorpius in tow. The three adults decided it was best for both children to floo to Blaise's home since everyone would be meeting there for the night's festivities. Marco, Lily and Hugo all came running up to Cassie and tackled her to the ground in hugs. The noise was almost deafening as Blaise. He was already dressed as Beast, he walked into the room.

Scorpius looked at the four children dog piled on the floor in alarm. While he had friends his age, like the Nott twins, they never caroused and played like normal children. His mother would have had a fit if he daned to wrinkle his robes in greetings.

Cassie had looked up under the pile of small arms and legs and saw her father standing there. She grinned broadly, it had been a few weeks since she had seen her father and being a daddy's girl, she missed him terribly. " _Papa_!" She yelled into her brother's ear as he yelled in pain, "Get off me you arse… er you pains in my bottom…" She looked abashed, "Sorry Papa, it just slipped out. I heard it from James!"

Blaise looked at her sternly as the kids pulled away from her, "Cassiopeia Zabini, that is not language for a young lady. I don't care if you heard it from your cousin. You are not to repeat it and you better not be lying about hearing it from him because I intend to tell his mother about it and if he receives a Howler because of your lie, the one your mother will send you will be three times worse than his."

Cassie blushed and looked down, ashamed at her actions, "I'm sorry Papa, I had heard it, but not from James. He was just the first person to come to mind. " She looked up at him, tears in her grey eyes and gave him a hug, "Please don't be mad."

Blaise sighed and bent down to his daughter, " _Cassie_ , you know better than to lie, what would mum say about that? She doesn't approve of lying to your parents."

Cassie sighed and nodded, "I know Papa, but it wasn't a big lie, just a little one." She held her forefinger and thumb at an inch length for example. "It's not like I flew a car to school."

Blaise laughed at his daughter, "Your mother didn't approve of that stunt either and bringing that up will do nothing but get you a lecture about flying cars." He gave her a hug as she grinned. She knew that if she got her dad laughing she was in the clear. "Don't let me hear you say those words again and we'll forget about telling mum about it. Go upstairs and get dressed. The lot of you." Looking over at Scorpius, Blaise grinned again, "Marco, Scor's costume is in your room, why don't you bring him and Hugo up there and get dressed."

All the kids ran off and there was a chuckle from the door, "I see my little Cupcake still has Daddy wrapped around her little finger." A handsome man walked into the room, "Don't worry, I won't tell Hermione that you conspired with your daughter to keep her in the dark about Cassie's advanced language. Though _asshole_ isn't exactly the worst my baby girl can do. She grew up in New York after all. I've heard Marco cuss out a cabbie once."

Blaise looked at his friend, "Why have I not heard about this? He's only nine." Blaise held out a hand to his old friend. He must have just gotten to the estate by portkey and let himself in. The floo roared into life again and Draco, dressed in a cloak walked out of the grate.

Landon's blue eyes sparked in interest, "He must be my cupcake's bio dad."

Draco looked over at Blaise, "Does everyone in your life know about me?"

Landon laughed, "No, but you look just like my baby girl, it isn't hard to put together. _Now_ ," He said looking over at Blaise, "Where is my mommy cupcake? I need a Hermione hug! Now that you are divorced, it is time to make my move." He clapped his hands together and smirked.

Draco's eyes narrowed, jealousy roaring in his chest. It was one thing to see how loving Blaise was towards Hermione, but this was a stranger to him and he was starting to consider Hermione to be _his._

The floo chime went off and the grate filled with green flames. Out of the flames walked Hermione in a pair of slim fitting track pants, boots and a fitted orange top. Seeing the three men standing there she smiled, even more broadly when she saw Landon.

Dropping her bag on a nearby sofa, she ran over and gave her old neighbor a hug, "Landon, you're here! I thought you were taking a later portkey." She said into his shoulder

Landon bent his knees and picked Hermione into a big sweeping bear hug, "Oh Cupcake, you know I couldn't wait to see my favorite Zabini! I have missed you, the building is unusually quiet without my favorite girl next door. So now that you're divorced, we can tell your husband that our nights out ended with us having sex on the floor of my apartment right?"

Blaise rolled his eyes, "Yes, because Hermione would cheat on me," He gestured to his obviously toned body, "With you." Gesturing to Landon's equally toned one.

Hermione laughed, "Landon, sweetheart, the only one shagging on the floor of your flat was you. I should know, I walked in on you in the bathroom with that bartender from that place in the East Village."

Landon's eyes flashed in remembrance, "Oh yeah, he was very nice, nice firm asss…. _OW_ , Fuck! _Hermione_! I was kidding!" He flinched as Hermione smacked him in the arm.

Hermione narrowed her eyes at her friend, "There are children in the house Landon, we don't discuss your sexual escapades with my kids present."

Landon laughed as he rubbed his arm, Hermione turned and gave Blaise a kiss on the cheek and one to Draco. Blaise noticed that the kiss she gave Draco lasted a bit longer than just a peck and he grinned knowingly at his friend.

"We can't talk about my sexual conquests, but you can walk around with the word 'Juicy' on your ass. Tell me, Cupcake, does your bra have the word 'Tasty' on it?"

Hermione turned and smirked, "Nope, but I have that word tattooed somewhere _very_ special." and winked. Blaise began to laugh, knowing full well that his ex was lying through her teeth but watched as Landon's eyes got wide with appreciation.

Landon smirked, knowing she was lying, "Oh really? Is it next to a picture of an apple? Want me to snack on your tasty apple? _OW FUCK!_ 'MIONE, I'M SORRY!"

She had reached over and punched him in the arm, "Woman you have a ring on, I'm going to bruise and you will be sorry for it. Mar my perfect skin, if I don't get laid tonight it is entirely your fault."

Hermione snickered, "Like I care if _you_ get laid," She brought out her wand and removed the red mark that started forming on his arm. "Are you coming with us trick or treating?"

Landon rolled his eyes, "Of course not. I don't like children, just my Cass and Marc, the rest are evil spawns from hell."

"Those are my niece and nephews you are talking about." Hermione chastised, "They are not spawns from hell."

"Speak for yourself Cupcake," Landon chuckled, "I will be enjoying a quiet evening while you deal with screaming children rabid for candy and we shall all go out later tonight. You said a few couples are coming with us? I have a wonderful group costume for us to wear tonight. You will look spectacular. My goal is not just get laid tonight, but to get you laid as well." He winked at Blaise who frowned.

"We won't be trying to get my ex laid, she isn't interested in a one off."

"Who says? You're her ex, maybe she just needs a good pipe cleaning. _OW, FUCK, HERMIONE THIS IS GETTING OLD!"_

"Stop talking about me and my sex life like I'm not in the room!" Hermione shouted turning slightly red as she realised that Draco was about to start growling at Landon, "I don't need help getting my pipes cleaned thank you, I can do that on my own."

"Get laid, or clean your pipes? With who? Tell Uncle Landon all about it." He grabbed Hermione around the arms and walked them out of the room and up the stairs towards the guest room he would be staying in. Or at least, his bags would be staying there. He would be staying someplace else, hopefully plowing his way into any willing participant he could snag.

"Blaise, who is that guy?" Draco whispered heatedly as they heard them go up the stairs. He did not like this at all. He and Hermione hadn't been able to speak about their kiss a few days ago because after dinner, Marco had wanted to play a muggle game of Life with his mum and Draco. So they spent the evening playing the game until it was time for Marco to go to sleep. He had intended to speak to her the next day, but she had been running around making sure she had been prepared for this evening and then was completely busy the day before. He had been hoping he would be able to speak to her tonight before everyone got to Blaise's home, but now this new man was taking up her time.

Blaise smirked at the ire his friend was feeling. He knew Landon was a shameless flirt. Landon flirted with anyone, man, woman, witch or wizard. He had always flirted with Hermione, they had spent a lot of time together, but they were just friends. He had always liked to see if he could make Hermione blush. In the beginning, that had not been a hard feat, Hermione would blush just watching the muggle men at the beach wearing speedos, never wanted to wear her own two piece bikini, though she looks fantastic in it. Over the years, and with the help of uncouth Americans, she lost her shy nature and began to have a little fun.

That was about the time that Landon moved into their building. He was a wizard photographer for the American Witch Weekly. He and Hermione hit it off as he was never there to take her picture. The United States were aware of the war in England, they knew her name, but with how big the city was, not many cared that a war heroine lived in the building.

"Landon is just a friend, he flirts with anyone. He loves to see if he can say salacious things to Hermione to see if he can shock her. But they see themselves more as family than anything else. It's like Ron and Harry, she collects brothers."

Draco nodded as the floo activated again and out stepped the Potters and Weasley's. Marco had begged for Lily and Hugo to come home with him after school to get ready for the evening and of course, Blaise couldn't say no.

"Blaise," Ginny Potter grinned, "Thanks for picking up the kids for us, remind me to give Marco a giant hug for the afternoon off." The redheaded witch walked over and gave him a hug with a small chuckle.

She looked over at the blond man standing there a bit apprehensive, "Malfoy," She acknowledged, "I heard from James and Albus that Cassie has taken quite a liking to Scorpius. They seem to be getting along. Oh and all the kids say thank you to your mother," she snickered a bit, "they all really enjoy the gift baskets she sends her."

Draco chuckled, remembering how big those baskets could get and knowing his mother. She would be over compensating for lost time and knowing that Cassie would be the type to share with her cousins. He nodded and promised to relay the thanks to his mother when Ron and Harry walked up with stern looks on their faces.

"Malfoy," Harry bit out, "If I ever hear of you hurting my God daughter or her mother, I will make you wish they had sent you to Azkaban all those years ago."

"If they sent him to Azkaban, Cassie wouldn't be here." Hermione's voice echoed from the door, "Harry James Potter, you better rein in your protective bullshit, I haven't needed that in over twelve years, I don't need it now."

"No way Hermione," Ron whinged, "You can't wear that, you have to change right now!" Everyone looked to Hermione in the door and the four Gryffindors glowered at their friend. Hermione had on a pair of cream skinny jeans with brown shin guards over and brown dragonhide flat boots. She also had on a forest green sweater, trimmed in silver and a green and silver jersey on top with the number two on the front, topped with a green cloak and arm guards and fingerless gloves. On her cloak the name _Zabini_ and the number two was embroidered in silver.

Blaise laughed, "That's where my quidditch box went."

Hermione smirked, "Marco brought it to our house so he could play with it, I just decided since I'm not in a couple, this would work for trick or treating."

Ginny blanched, "Hermione, you could have borrowed my stuff. You look horrendous in Slytherin house colors, you're a Gryffindor."

Hermione laughed, "Well, I didn't feel like being a Potter or a Weasley for the evening. I'm already a Zabini, might as well stay one."

Draco felt his mouth dry and his throat constrict. He had always imagined what Hermione would look like wearing his Slytherin quidditch uniform… well not in the same context… usually she was just wearing his jersey with nothing else to impede his view of her body swimming in it. His name plastered on the back, claiming her as his own. His trousers tightened with the arousal that formed from that thought and he was glad he still had on his travelling cloak when the grate lit up again and out came Susan and her son Owen.

Hermione grinned at her friend and ran over to give her a hug. "Sue, you look fantastic! This dress is beautiful on you." The sudden change to Susan signaled to her friends that she was done discussing her costume. Susan smiled at her friend and then over at her boyfriend all dressed in his costume. Susan was dressed as Belle, but instead of the iconic yellow ball gown she was dressed in the white long sleeve shirt under a blue dress and a white apron. Her normally blonde hair was a few shades darker, closer to Hermione's shade and pulled back with a blue ribbon, she had also donned a purple cloak as well. Blaise was dressed in his Beast costume sans the head, navy trousers with a gold stripe down the side, a white ruffled shirt with a gold waist coat and a blue and gold jacket over it all.

Susan walked over and gave him a small kiss to which Owen, who was dressed as a werewolf groaned in disgust. Hermione laughed and gave Owen a big hug, the little boy smiled, gave her a hug and ran upstairs to find Marco. Hermione looked around, Harry and Ginny were dressed as Prince Eric and Ariel, with legs, blue long sleeve shirt and dark blue dress with her hair pulled back with a giant blue ribbon (her evening out costume was Ariel with a tail complete with purple shells). Ron and Lavender were dressed as Morticia and Gomez Addams, their hair glamoured black for the evening. Draco was still in his cloak so she wasn't sure what he was suppose to be but before she could ask him, the noise from the hall permeated through the room.

Blaise laughed as Landon came running into parlor to escape the noise, "Blaise, there are way too many children in this house, please tell me they aren't all staying here tonight?"

Hermione smirked, "No, Cassie and Scorpius will be going back to school this evening, they have classes tomorrow and Marco will be going with Hugo and Lily to spend the night with Molly and Arthur. She promised to get the kids off to school in the morning."

Landon smiled, "Oh good! Is everyone coming out with us tonight Mi? Or is it just going to be you and me so I can take advantage of you?" He wagged his eyebrows at her suggestively.

Hermione sent a low voltage stinging hex at him and he yelped, "I told you, no talking like that when my kids are in the house." She warned as he grumbled. Marco ran in, dressed as a muggle version of a wizard and Harry laughed. With the long beard and tall hat, Marco looked like a tanned Albus Dumbledore, Scorpius was dressed as a Vampire, his pale skin looked perfect with the cloak and outfit as well as the teeth. Hugo and Lily were dressed as more Adams family members, Lily was Wednesday Addams and Hugo opted to be Cousin It complete with bowler hat and sunglasses. The adults all cheered as each child walked into the room as their costumes were really quite spectacular.

"Papa," Cassie's worried voice came from the hall, "Papa, I changed my mind! Mum might get mad."

Hermione frowned, "Cassie, Love, what are you talking about? Come out here and let's see your costume." She looked over at Blaise who was staring at the wall next to him trying to hide a smile.

"Blaise Zabini, what did you do?" Hermione's tone was menacing as she watched her ex move next to Marco. A move that most people wouldn't find odd, but Hermione knew it well. It was calculating, it was his human shield move. Hermione brought her wand down to the top of her wrist under the sweater and began to move close to her husband. Blaise grabbed Marco and Hugo and moved next to Lily with a giant grin. "Blaise," Hermione warned as she brought up her wand.

Marco, being the son of the brightest witch of the age, grabbed his cousin's arms, or rather Lily's arm and Hugo's wig and pulled them down and motioned for them to crawl away.

Blaise, groaned as his human shields disappeared and Hermione pushed him against the wall, and held him there gently, "What did you do?"

Blaise laughed, "She wanted an original costume. She didn't want to be anything I suggested but something that tied her to you, her wonderful, beautiful, albeit a bit scary, but loving mother. An homage to your greatness." He tried to butter her up, but she knew better, "I just made her the best costume I could."

"Cassie, come here please," Hermione called to her daughter, "I promise whatever your father did will be his fault entirely."

"Mum, please don't get mad," Cassie called out, "Please don't hurt Papa, it was suppose to be funny, but I don't know if you will think it is."

"Cassie, get out here." Hermione was beginning to lose her patience with her family. All of a sudden Harry and Ron both burst out laughing, Ron going as far as falling into the chair next to him. Hermione turned to see her daughter, she looked from the bottom up and didn't see anything odd, she had been wearing her Gryffindor uniform and then the further up she went she noticed that she was made up with black makeup on her face and black pointy ears, her nose had been given the illusion as to be a cat's nose, she had whiskers and even had a tail. Even her normally blonde curls were glamoured black.

Cassie had become Hermione in second year, when she accidently polyjuiced herself into a cat. Hermione turned to Blaise who couldn't stop smiling, "Really Blaise? I should have made you into a troll."

"Cara, she's adorable and she loves this story so why shouldn't she be one for Halloween?"

"I should hex you Blaise Zabini," Hermione mumbled, looking over at her two best friends, "Would you two shut up, stop laughing at my daughter!"

"What is this?" Lavender looked on puzzled. She had clearly never heard the story. Hermione, while not really upset over it, did realise that the story would have to be told so the others would get the joke. She began the story about second year and how they all thought Draco was the Heir of Slytherin and how she had the bright idea to make polyjuice, but had the unfortunate mishap of stealing a cat's hair, not Millicent Bulstrode and ended up as a cat for a few weeks in the hospital wing. By the end of the story, everyone (including Draco, though he just smiled and gave a small chuckle) began to gaffaw at the thought of Hermione 'The Cat' Granger.

Hermione narrowed her eyes as she spotted Cassie's shoulders slump down, walking over to her daughter, she put her arm around her, "What is wrong Love?" She spoke softly to Cassie.

"I thought this would be fun mum, but I don't like that they are laughing at you." Cassie looked so distraught, she ran out of the room. The laughter stopped almost immediately.

"What's wrong with Cassie?" Harry asked.

Hermione turned to her friends, "She is a very sensitive child and you have all made her upset because she thinks you're taking a piss at her mother. She wanted it to be a fun joke, but now thinks you are all making fun of her and me."

"But we aren't," Ron said, shaking his head, "It was just an amusing tale," Ron tried hard not to look at Harry, whose mouth twitched at the memory of Hermione's tail, "from our past. She knows we love you both, we wouldn't make fun of you… well her."

"Yes, well now, you've upset her Ronald." Hermione scolded. All the kids looked amazed at the look of shame on Ron's face.

"Cassie," Ron called out, "Come here sweety."

Cassie walked in slowly, a few tears falling from her lashes, "Yes, Uncle Ron?"

"Cassie, we weren't making fun of you or your mum," Ron said, as she approached his chair and sat next to him. Harry went and knelt down next to the little witch as well.

"No, sweety," Harry agreed, "We were just reminiscing our fun misadventures of school. You look brilliant as a cat, just like your mum."

"But, you were both so mean," Cassie's lip quivered, "I feel so bad that I am the reason you're laughing at her."

The men all shook their heads and argued she wasn't. In the end, Cassie wanted them to promise to let her mum pick their next costumes for the night, cus then she might be able to have a little fun too. At first they all said no, but a tiny tremble of her lip and a few sniffles and she had all the men in the room bent to her will.

As soon as they all agreed she smiled brightly, "There you go Mum," the glint of mischief dancing in her grey eyes and a smirk to rival her brothers, "Told Uncle Landon I could do it. Can we go now? Scorpius and I don't have much time before we have to be back at school."

The men all looked over at Hermione, who had quietly moved behind Landon and seemed to be quivering, she fell to her knees, peals of laughter escaping from her mouth. Cassie ran over and gave her a hug as Landon began to laugh. Ginny, Susan and Lavender both began to laugh as well, knowing full well that Cassie had just conned her uncles and fathers into doing her bidding.

"You did amazing Cupcake," Landon agreed, "You're mother is a genius."

Blaise groaned, "You cheat Mi," he said pointing his finger at his ex, "We said no using the children."

Hermione scoffed, "At least I didn't use the nine years olds as a _human shield_ Blaise Zabini. You're just mad because Cassie makes a better Slytherin than you and my baby is a Gryffindor."

"What just happened? " Harry asked, even though he had a pretty good idea.

Cassie just looked at her uncle with a grin, "In New York, we call that a hustle. It was Mum's idea to get back at Papa for this costume," Blaise looked at his daughter and threw her a fake pout, "Sorry Papa, but Mum said it wasn't very nice to trick her and I had to agree. Besides, you both win, I'm wearing this for Halloween and mum says your costume will be amazing."

Hermione smirked and Landon laughed, "Oh yes," He chuckled at his friend, "You will love it."

"I don't like that my daughter just out Slytherin'ed me." Blaise pouted. Cassie laughed and gave Blaise a hug, smiling softly at Draco as well. She was still getting use to his presence, but was very glad he was there.

Hermione laughed, "Let's go, Mum and Dad are waiting to see the children and Scorpius and Cassie really need to get back to school," Hermione gave Landon a hug, letting him know they would be back soon and the group of them all floo'd over to Hermione's parents home.

 **A/N: In my haste to upload I forgot to mention, there are a few Easter Eggs in this chapter. The scene where Landon and Hermione banter about the word Juicy on her ass, that is modeled after a Gilmore girls scene. Not word for word, but it was my inspiration. Also Cassie says that in New York it's called a hustle, that is from Zootopia. Landon is my homage to Lena Phoria, though I could never pull it off as well as she does. Landon calling Hermione and Cassie Cupcake is for CaBW. My all time favorite Dramione.**


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: So here is the rest of Halloween for everyone, I powered through writing this chapter, it ended up being 5,555 words which I laughed at when I saw that. My lovely Beta, Blue of Avis1765 has had a chance to correct my errors. Speaking of Blue, you should really go over to their page and check out her new fic, September. She just started posting it today and it is already great! I've decided that I dedicate this chapter to her, for being an awesome beta and always helping out when she can.**

 **Peace, Love and Slyther,**

 **Gimi aka Jess**

Arriving at Hermione's childhood home, they floo'd into the study fireplace upstairs and away from the constant stream of children. Draco looked around, this being the first time in a Muggle home. He could see pictures adorning the walls, Hermione at various ages growing up: an infant, toddler aged, riding what looked to be a pony, as a child, at a school event, a picture of her at age eleven as she stood in front of the Hogwarts Express. There were even wizarding photos that moved here; Hermione at fourteen at the Yule Ball with Krum, fifteen or sixteen with Ron and Harry, at a wedding looking beautiful in a lilac dress, in a simple white dress in the Zabini Garden with Blaise and their parents -

That one and other's where he saw the little blonde baby made his heart ache just a bit more. Draco knew he had to get over the fact that he missed these memories with Cassie, it did nothing to dwell, but he couldn't get them back. He had missed it all; all her firsts and that hurt.

An older version of Hermione came in, just slightly shocked to see the sheer number of people in her study.

"Blaise, Hermione," Cassie and Marco ran forward and hugged their grandmother, "Cassie, Marco, you both look spectacular. Cassie, you are certainly original." Hermione laughed as they all went downstairs to see her father who was passing out sugar free sweets to the children.

Hermione introduced Susan, Owen, Scorpius, and Draco to her parents, Jean and Graham Granger. At Draco's name, her father's eyes narrowed. Draco grimaced, he should have known that her family would not like him on sight, not only was he the git that made their daughter's life hell during school, he's also the git that made her fall in love with him, knocked her up and then dumped her to raise a child. He shouldn't have come.

The noise from the kids was deafening so Blaise actually growled, with his Beast mask, it actually scared the children silent except for Cassie who just giggled. Blaise narrowed his eyes at his daughter and she bit her tongue, knowing that look meant that her Papa was losing patience and that was never a fun Papa.

"If you want to go then you lot need to quiet down," Blaise said firmly. "We are in the Muggle world now, Cassie and Marco, I know you are used to Muggles so you know how to behave, but Hugo, Lily and Scorp, you all need to remember not to mention anything about our world." Blaise warned the children, "It is important that you all stay together and come back to us once you get your treats."

Cassie and Marco both rolled their eyes, "Yes Papa," they both sung out in unison, clearly not hearing this for the first time. The Zabini kids both laugh and grabbed their treat bags and looked up expectantly at their parents.

Hermione laughed and handed the other kids their bags, since this was Scorpius' and Owen's first year trick or treating she just gave them theirs and told them to follow the other children's lead. Harry, being raised in the Muggle world, but never allowed to go trick or treating had made it a priority to take his own kids as well as Ron's, so they all knew what to expect.

Owen was still young so he was excited but Scorpius looked a bit apprehensive. Hermione, feeling that he was unsure of what was to take place, gave him his bag and then leaned down and kissed him on his blond head. Scorpius looked up at her with awe and a small smile, he walked over to Cassie and the other kids and waited for everyone to be ready to go.

Draco, seeing Hermione be so tender to Scorpius, smiled brightly at her. Astoria never showed much affection to their son, it was not done in traditional pureblood families, his own mother was an exception and even then, she never showed it in public. It wasn't the Malfoy way. The fact that Hermione would show his son such tenderness made him love her more.

"Draco, take off your cloak," Blaise called out, noticing his friend was still wearing his travelling cloak, "You smell like a floo."

Draco flushed a bit, forgetting that he hadn't revealed his own costume yet, groaning, he unbuttoned his cloak and showed his own Hogwarts quidditch uniform. He hadn't had time to think of a costume during the week and had spent most of his weekend contemplating the kiss that by the time it was time to go, he had nothing to wear.

Ginny, Lavender and Susan all began to snigger as Hermione blushed a pretty shade of pink. Hermione remembered all too well how handsome Draco looked in his uniform as a teenage boy, but as a man, she wanted to tear it off of him and lick him down. It was that thought that brought on the blush. Blaise, knowing his ex wife just chuckled and whispered something in her ear. She gave him a look and punched him in the arm.

Blaise chuckled again and led the kids out of the house, Ron and Harry both gave Hermione a pained look, but knowing how their friend was just walked out after their wives and Susan.

Hermione walked over to Draco, "I did not do this on purpose Hermione," Draco started, knowing as soon as he opened his mouth that it sounded stupid, there was no way he could have planned this. He hadn't had any idea about what her costume was going to be.

Hermione just smiled and gave him a kiss on his cheek, "Draco, calm down. How could you have done it on purpose? I just figured out my costume today." Draco smiled back in relief and Hermione kissed him again, this time on the side of his mouth, "Come on, the kids will be racing to go."

Trick or treating went fairly well, Owen and Scorpius fit right in after the first house, though Scorpius wondered why children went door to door begging for sweets, he stopped complaining after his father told him he would take his sweets off his hands if he wasn't interested. Scorpius sped up and walked with his sister, much to the amusement of the men of the group.

The ladies were all walking behind the men, trying to get more information out of Hermione about her bout of alone time with Draco at her parent's home before they left. Hermione though, was not one to kiss and tell and just told them nothing happened.

That could not be further from the truth. She really had no idea what she was doing. She knew she loved him, she was fairly certain he felt the same way and she had initiated kissing him each time, but wasn't it too soon? They had been apart for almost thirteen years, married other people, had children. It shouldn't be this easy to fall into old habits should it? Especially after the way they had ended. No matter his reasoning, Hermione couldn't get her heart to see the logic that her brain could see in it. She was still afraid of being hurt.

Blaise led the way back to the Granger's home and Grandpa Graham then tried to talk the children into trading their sweets for sugar free ones and samples of dental floss and toothpaste. The only ones who parted with a few of their sweets were Cassie and Scorpius, Cassie because she knew it would make her grandparents feel a bit better that she took care of her teeth and Scorpius because he was unsure of Muggle sweets and wasn't sure about eating it all.

The group of wizards all said goodbye to the Grangers and headed back through the floo in the study to go back to Blaise's home. Cassie and Scorpius had to go back to school, but that wasn't for another hour or so and that gave Cassie some time to spend with her cousins and brothers.

As everyone filed out of the floo, music could be heard coming from the billiard room. Marco and Cassie both squealed in excitement and ran ahead of the group. By the time Hermione came through the floo and into the billiards room, everyone was dancing to the music that Landon had playing. Hermione smiled at the sight of her daughter twirling in circles holding Scorpius' hand above her head like she was a ballerina. Scorpius had a giant smile on his face as Cassie took hold of both hands and began to dance around the room with him. Owen and Hugo were both jerking their bodies and jumping up and down, clearly not knowing how to dance but didn't want to be left out.

Blaise and Susan were both dancing, laughing at the kids. Marco and Lily were trying to follow what his father was doing. Landon was grinning at Cassie and Scorpius while the other adults were just enjoying the children having fun. Hermione went and stood next to Draco, reaching over and squeezing his hand. Draco looked over at her and gave her his perfect Malfoy smirk with a hint of a grin and suddenly she was eighteen again and the butterflies threatened to take over. She grinned back and in spite of herself, felt her cheeks flush. Draco's smile grew as her cheeks turned that beautiful shade of pink that he associated strictly with Hermione.

Blaise watched his friend and his ex and couldn't help but smile. He felt a glimmer of jealousy, but he had expected that. Throughout his marriage, he had always felt a bit envious of Draco. Draco was Hermione's first love, her first true and passionate love. While she had learned to love him with passion, he knew it dulled in comparison to this. The look on Hermione's face, that was a look he had only ever seen all those years ago while they were at school. Draco brought out a different sort of spark in her that Blaise couldn't.

Now, with Susan firmly in his arms, that jealousy he used to feel over his ex wife and her first love lessened. Of course there were days that he looked at his children and felt anger that they couldn't have worked it out, but as he reflected back at their relationship towards the end of their marriage. He was grateful he had the foresight to get divorced while there was still love between them so they could still be business partners, best friends, and co-parents. He would hate to have no relationship with Hermione beyond being co-parents. They shared thirteen years together, the same friends and same family. He couldn't imagine a life without her in some capacity. She even introduced him to Susan, someone who was quickly becoming extremely important to him and he could see her becoming more, all thanks to Hermione.

Draco leaned into Hermione and whispered into her ear, "Thank you Hermione for inviting Scorpius and me to celebrate a family tradition." The whisper sent a shiver down her spine and the butterflies went wild in her stomach. The flush came back and she heard Draco chuckle lightly and kissed her on the cheek. He rubbed his thumb on the fleshy part of her hand is circles and all he wanted to do was throw her over his shoulder and find a dark corner to ravish her in.

"Oi! What's going on in here?" A new voice questioned from the doorway. Theo and Pansy both walked into the room of chaos as the children, Blaise and Susan were all still dancing, the others were swaying in time to the beat as well.

"Uncle Theo, Aunt Pansy!" Scorpius grinned and ran up to his father's friends, "Cassie, come here, I want you to meet my uncle and aunt."

Cassie walked up and smiled at the new couple, "Hello, I'm Cassie Zabini."

Pansy looked at her in wonder, "Hello, Merlin you look just like Scorpius."

Cassie held her head up and smiled brightly, "Not really, I'm older, therefore I got all the good looks."

Pansy laughed, "Sweet Circe Blaise, she reminds me of you, that is scary."

Theo laughed, "It's like Draco and Blaise had a child. Granger are you sure you were even there during conception?" Hermione sent a low voltage stinging hex at Theo's arm, "Ow! What was that for?"

Hermione shrugged, "Don't talk about stuff like that in front of the children."

Landon laughed, at least he wasn't the only one getting reprimanded.

Ginny sniggered, "Anyways, Harry and I are going to floo the kids to mum and dad's now. Susan, would you mind if Owen spent the night too? He and Hugo have been having a lot of fun and I doubt mum would mind. She misses having a lot of family around."

Susan agreed and all the kids cheered except for Lily who grumbled something about smelly boys and being outnumbered. Ginny cheered her up though, being the only girl of seven siblings, Ginny had some tricks to keeping boys in line. Harry and Ginny left with all the kids, while Cassie and Scorpius went upstairs and changed back into their uniforms and the rushed back down to spend a few minutes with their parents.

Cassie had missed her parents, even though they were divorced she always had access to both of them when she wanted to see them, being at school made it harder so she was enjoying it while she had the chance.

Scorpius had also thanked Hermione and Blaise for including him, as a good Malfoy should and Hermione laughed and gave him another hug. Scorpius felt stiff in her arms, but only for a moment, the only people who were so affectionate towards him were his grandmother Narcissa and his father. The Greengrass family were traditional purebloods, no outward affection, that made you weak. After what Lucius did, Draco did everything in his power to be the complete opposite of his father.

Unfortunately once Harry and Ginny returned, it was time to say goodbye to Scorpius and Cassie. With final hugs, including one to Draco, Cassie reminded her uncles they promised to wear what her mum wanted them to wear and she was expecting pictures.

Ron and Harry both groaned, complaining they had too many snakes in their lives when Cassie reminded them, she was a Gryffindor with a smile and the green flames took her away.

"Doesn't matter what that sorting hat said," Ron grumbled, a bit peeved that an eleven year old tricked him, "That girl has two snakes for fathers, she's more snake than lion. We all know Hermione would have been a Slytherin in an instant if she didn't have a conscious. Muggleborn or not."

All four snakes began to laugh knowing that Ron was right, Hermione smirked, "And with that, you boys have costumes to get into to." Everyone groaned and Hermione laughed openly, "Landon set everything out for you five in Blaise's room with your names on it," Landon began to snicker, "And save your complaining, the girls have their own matching costumes, you will all love it, so save the indignation. It's Halloween, get into the spirit!" With that the women all laughed and followed Hermione and Landon upstairs.

Draco watched Landon and Hermione and turned to Blaise, "I thought you said they were like siblings? Since when do brothers help their sisters get dressed?"

Blaise shook his head and they all went to the master bedroom to retrieve their costumes to change (they certainly weren't changing into them in front of each other). "Knowing Landon and Hermione's idea of costumes, I'm sure he will be back to help with the final touches of ours," The men all looked confused, and Blaise laughed, "Hermione loves Halloween and in New York, Landon and she would go all out. Authentic, not the cheap Muggle costumes, make up, whatever was needed. Hermione once went as Marie Antoinette and her dress weighed more than she did."

OoOoOoO

Blaise took one look at the bed, at the costumes and he groaned. He should have known. Landon and Hermione had been begging for a reason to do this and this big of a group and that stunt with Cassie and she had them.

Blaise stuck his head out of his door and yelled towards the stairs, "HERMIONE ZABINI, THIS IS NOT OVER!" He could swear he heard his ex wife cackle with Landon. Then he heard music and groaned again.

The men stuck their heads out of the door as they heard the beat to a Muggle song and Hermione shout, "BRING IT ON BLAISE, I'VE GOT LANDON!"

"Blaise she isn't serious is she?" Theo asked, holding up a pair of high waisted Muggle pants.

The men began to laugh, all except Draco who was holding up a pair of gold skin tight shorts, "Blaise what the fuck is this shit?" He held up the pair of gold boots as well.

Blaise just shook his head and said, "This is Hermione's favorite Muggle Halloween movie." He held up his own jeans and leather jacket, "This is Rocky Horror Picture Show."

Harry groaned, he went over to his own costume, a pair of grey trousers, blue vest and a light blue button down shirt with a tan coat. He smirked, at least his costume was clothes. Theo had a pair of socks, his briefs and brown loafers. Ron had cream button down, a black coat, black trousers and black boots. He also had some sort of wig, bald on top and long stringy blond hair in the back.

Blaise had a pair of Muggle jeans, a pair of black boots, a black tee shirt and a jean jacket with leopard collar and ripped off sleeves and stud embellishments. Blaise also had a saxophone and a black wig.

Blaise laughed, he had an idea of what the women's costumes would be, the counterpart of their husband's own, which meant Susan would be dressed as Columbia. He had to hand it to Hermione, she knew that was Blaise's favorite character in that crazy movie. At least she did that for him, maybe he could convince her to keep the costume after tonight.

Landon walked into the room, dressed in a black curly wig, pearls, high collared blue grey dress with a red triangle on the corner. He also had on clunky black heels, black shimmering gloves and black eye makeup, "Blaise are you guys fighting it? I'm not above sending Cassie an owl and having her send you all tearful letter, ink blotches all over the parchment."

Theo looked shocked, "I wasn't even here, why am I falling for that trick? Why am I going along with this?"

Landon grinned, "Oh, your wife said if you don't comply with Hermione's wishes she won't be wearing her costume to bed. She's extremely excited about the thought of plain garments, said something about mixing it up in the bedroom. Might I add, your wives all look hot as hell, I knew this would be the year of Rocky," Landon looked over at Draco, dressed in his gold spandex shorts and gold boots and bit his bottom lip, "I must say, you all look delectable."

Blaise snorted, "Everyone here is straight Landon, stop flirting."

Landon just shrugged and grinned lecherously, "Come on stud, lets get the rest of your makeup done," and he pulled Blaise over so he could work on his head scar. He looked over at Draco, "You need a little body oil, can you do it yourself or would you like me or my Cupcake to help you?"

Harry, Theo and Ron couldn't stop themselves from laughing, Draco sneered, "I think I can handle it."

"Yeah, Draco is used to being married to Astoria, he's use to rubbing on the oil," Theo chortled and that set off Ron and Harry again. Blaise couldn't stop himself, he started laughing too.

The men all left the room after Ron was given a dusting of costume makeup to make him a bit paler and Draco rubbed on some oil, ignoring the snickers around him. He had decided that if Hermione picked him for this costume, if one could call it a costume, then maybe she just wanted to see him in next to nothing. That thought made him smirk, he liked the idea of her choosing this for him. Better him than any of the other men.

The men went to the parlor to wait for the women when Pansy walked in, her dark hair charmed in soft ringlets around her face and wearing a white Muggle slip and a white cotton bra. She also wore a pair of flat white shoes and carried a white bag. She was smirking at the open mouthed look her husband gave her.

"What are you wearing?" Theo cried, "and where is the rest of it?"

Pansy laughed, "We really must figure out this movie thing, Hermione swore this costume is common in the Muggle world." She did a little bit of a twirl, "Muggle women do show a lot of skin on Halloween."

Blaise laughed, "Hermione and Landon dragged me to a showing of this movie in the theater once, it is a big thing for Muggles, I don't really understand it, but the outfits are pretty crazy."

Ginny walked in, her hair fashioned similar to Pansy's, wearing a high collared pink dress, the same shoes as Pansy, the same back and a white cardigan.

Theo mumbled something about how being the savior of the wizarding world allowed them to wear actual clothes, "Why is it that Draco and I are the only ones who are mostly naked? I didn't know Hermione wanted to see my wand that badly."

Pansy snorted, "Honey, I told her which costume I wanted to wear, which lead to yours." Theo just looked at his wife and then wagged an eyebrow, "You want to see me in my pants? You just had to ask Love."

Pansy grinned, "Really, I wanted to see other women and men admire you." She put her hands on his waist, "Let them look, you are coming home with me." An evil glint in her eye.

Before the Notts could continue with their foreplay, Lavender walked in wearing black fishnet tights, a black dress, unbuttoned down to her black lace bra underneath with a white collar and white upturned sleeves and black pointy toed ankle boots. On top of the dress was a white apron with white lace edging and her strawberry blonde hair frizzed the way Hermione's hair had been during her Hogwarts days. She did make a very pretty Magenta.

Susan came down next and Blaise couldn't find the words. Her long blonde hair had been pulled back into a low ponytail and charmed a bright red, a top of her charmed locks was a gold sparkling top hat. Everything she wore sparkled, from the red bow tie to the gold and black suit jacket she wore on top of the multi colored corset and black multi colored pinstriped shorts. On her long legs she had black fishnets, a pair of blue socks and black heeled sparkling mary janes.

Landon went over and twirled Susan, "I must say, I do love your costume the most Susan. You sure you don't want to dump Blaise and be my date tonight?" Landon winked at Susan who just laughed.

Blaise smirked at his friend, "I've already told you, my women don't prefer you to me, stop flirting with my girlfriend." To Susan he kissed her soundly on her bright red lips, "You look spectacular Love."

Susan blushed, "That is what Hermione said, she said this would be your favorite."

Blaise smiled, "Yes, well. Hermione is always right."

"Remember that will you love?" Hermione said from the door, she raised an eyebrow at her ex. "Next time you think you can pull one over on me with the children, remember. I am always right."

Hermione had dressed as Dr. Frankenfurter. Her hair glamoured black and a heart tattooed on her arm. She had worn a sequined black corset style top that tied in the front, wearing a black shiny bra underneath, the same black fingerless gloves that Landon had been wearing. A black garter belt was on top of a pair of black silken boy short knickers and holding up a pair of fine knitted fishnets. She was also wearing a pair of peeptoe black mary jane heels a string of pearls around her neck.

Draco's mouth went dry. He stared at Hermione, all he could see was her long legs that he wanted to be wrapped around his waist or to bite them, he wasn't sure which at the moment. Right now, both sounded delicious. He swallowed and tried to remember, there were too many people around for either scenario.

Landon walked over to Draco as Hermione was listening to Theo complain with a smirk she shared with Pansy.

"She's special you know," Landon said as they both looked at Hermione laughing with Pansy. Draco looked over at this man dressed in a Muggle dress with makeup on, "She is one of my best friends, the only person to call me on my bullshit."

Draco nodded, not knowing where this was going. Landon put a hand on his shoulder, "Don't hurt her. I know all about you, she told me once during her bad spell. If you hurt her, I will flay you alive and send your skin to the four corners of the Earth as a sacrifice to Morganna."

Hermione looked over at Landon and Draco, "What is going on over there?"

Landon turned around and smiled, "Nothing Cupcake, just complimenting Draco on his arms, he's so sexy, can we keep him Love?"

Hermione laughed, "Landon, he's straight."

Landon huffed, "I'm tired of you married, straight couples, can we get going to a place where there is a potential love of my night please?"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Yes, let's go."

"Mione," Ron said, holding onto Lavender, "Where are we going?"

"Lunar Eclipse," Hermione smirked.

"Lunar? Like Luna Lovegood?" Harry asked.

Hermione shook her head, "Yes, Dean and she opened it six months ago. It is Dean's baby really, Luna is still working at the Quibbler for her father, but she will be there tonight." Her mouth twitched, "It's not a pub, but more like a night club."

"Why am I just hearing about this now?" Blaise asked with an raised eyebrow.

Hermione smirked, "We aren't married anymore, I don't need your permission to go to a club."

Blaise laughed, "Okay, you win. But this isn't like a sex club is it? I mean, I know Luna..."

Giggling Hermione shook her head, "No, Dean talked her out of it, but good guess. Just a normal dance club."

Everyone floo'd to the Leaky Cauldron and were led by Hermione into Diagon Alley. Many witches and wizards were openly staring at the half dressed wizards. Hermione held her head up high and walked between Draco and Landon.

Now, even all these years later, there were still wizards and witches that hated the Malfoys. Walking down the cobblestones, Hermione heard one witch talking to her companions about Death Eaters should have all been kissed. Hearing this as well, Draco sneered at the witches who boldly looked him dead in the eye.

Hermione stopped, looked the women up and down, "You're right, all Death Eaters should be kissed," with a final look at the witches she grabbed his neck and kissed him with all her might. Shocked at first but regaining his senses, he brought his hands up to her waist and brought her closer to him. Hermione brought one of her hands down his back and to his ass, giving it a nice firm squeeze. Barely hearing the hoots and howls around them from their friends, she pulled away, brought her hand up to her mouth and wiped away any spittle that landed around her mouth. She looked over at the women, "There, I think that taught him a lesson, don't you?"

The women were outraged by the display, citing she should be arrested for indecent exposure. Harry came forward and as head auror told the women there was nothing indecent with what she was wearing as well as he could arrest them for slandering a prominent member of the wizarding community. Scoffing that he would assure them that Draco Malfoy was still a prominent member of their community, Hermione released the glamour on her hair and removed her make up so she would be seen.

"He was talking about me, not that I could say that you would understand as you were not present at the battle. But I am Hermione Jean Granger, heroine of the war against Voldemort, this is my ex husband Blaise Zabini and the father of one of my children, Draco 'Death Eater' Malfoy"

"Do you really call him that," Landon wondered out loud.

Hermione smirked, "Only in bed," a round of laughter and a chuckle from Draco, she turned back to the gossipy women, "My friends and I are still alive today because we defeated that evil bastard, the man next to me, helped us do it. What were you doing during the battle? Hiding in your homes hoping it would pass?" She stepped closer to the women who were looking more and more uncomfortable, "Now if you are done insulting my companions, including Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and myself, 'The Golden Trio' and saviors of this world, I would highly suggest you run back to those homes of yours and keep your mouths shut before you find them shut for you." She went to move away from them and then turned back around, "Oh and as for Draco being a Death Eater, that is in the past and it was to protect his mother. We all do things we never thought we'd do to protect our families." She smiled brightly to the women, "Have a good evening ladies," and walked back to Blaise who just shook his head and put the arm that wasn't holding Susan's hand around her shoulders and they continued walking up the street.

Draco caught up to her, grabbing her hand, he pulled her aside as Blaise continued on with Susan and the rest of the group following. "You shouldn't have done that Hermione."

"Done what?" She asked confused, "Kissed you?"

"No, defend me, you should kiss me and often, but I can take care of myself. I'm use to people talking about me and my family, it's not like we were innocent."

"No, you aren't innocent," Hermione agreed, "But you aren't guilty either. You are a good person, I've seen you with Scorpius and with Cassie. You haven't said anything remotely 'Malfoy' like tonight to Ron and Harry and you are being a good sport about this costume, which by the way, you look very nice in." She looked him up and down appreciatively, "If nothing else, we are friends and if you haven't noticed, I don't take kindly to people talking about my friends."

Draco looked at her lips, she had reapplied the makeup and hair glamours, so her red lips were lined in black, but still looking so plump from the kiss, "Is that all we are?" He questioned, "Friends?"

Hermione looked at him, a bit shyly, "I don't know what we are Draco, I know what I feel, what I want. But we are in such a weird place and I don't know what you want. You tell me, what are we?"

Draco stepped into her space, putting his hands on her waist again, relishing in the feel of her skin under his fingers, he looked into her beautiful brown eyes, "We should go on a date," He said with confidence, "It's been twelve years Hermione, hell, it's been a weird, hard two months. But I want us to start again. Slow is probably best, I want to do this right. I know how I feel, it's the same way that I've felt for years. I don't deserve you, but I'm willing to start earning that right."

Hermione smiled and gave him a hug, they began to stroll back to their friends who were waiting at the corner, "Okay, a date," She looked at him sideways, "But just so you know, I don't kiss on the first date."

Draco laughed and put an arm around her waist, with his best Malfoy smirk, "You are a little late for that Hermione, don't think I haven't been keeping tally. You've kissed me a total of four times in less days, face it, you can't keep your lips off of me."

Hermione laughed at him as they reached everyone else. They made their way into the club where Hermione began to feel like she might just have a handle of this new part of her life. She tried to squash that little voice in her head that was trying to build up the wall again. She would not be hurt this time, this time she would get her happy ending.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Hello again & Happy Hermione Granger Birthday! This chapter is a bit of a filler, but does have its moments. This chapter is dedicated to my commando tea room ladies. This chapter has been freshly beta'd by Blue of Avis1675! She is amazing and calms my comma habit down substantially. Much love to her :). I hope you all enjoy. Landon is becoming my favorite OC, I hope you love him as much as I do.**

 **Peace, Love & Slytherin,**

 **Gimi aka Jess**

The night had been full of drinks, dancing and singing. The group was definitely noticeable within the dance club. Especially Draco, Theo, Pansy and Hermione since their costumes were little more than underwear. She Hermione held her head up high, she had been dying to get a chance to be in this group costume, she was not about to be embarrassed by it.

Dean was behind the bar and grinned brightly as he saw the group of lions and snakes. Hermione ran up and gave him a hug and introduced him to Landon. Landon's eyes perked up at the dark skinned man, but once again, was disappointed as Dean was another straight male. Grumbling that he was in search of a man who curved to the left a little or a woman who didn't mind that curve, he left the group in search of a fulfilling person or couple.

The group went on to have a great time mingling with Luna; finding Landon in compromising positions in the men's room - much to the redness of Ron's face. And several gropes of a certain gold clad ass. Hermione had even entertained her friends by dancing on stage with Luna who was dressed for the occasion in a sparkling red strapless Muggle dress with a slit up to her navel; that left little to the imagination, long purple gloves and charmed red hair.

Blaise laughed at his three friends who did not have the luxury of being around Muggles as much as the rest of them. Hermione had always loved the film growing up and Blaise was not surprised that Harry, Ron, Ginny and even Lavender were familiar with the iconic Jessica Rabbit costume that Luna was wearing.

Luna had joined her friends as Landon made his way back over to the table. Ron looked anywhere but at him, much to the amusement of the group. Hermione glanced around at the mix of people she was surrounded by and smiled. She thought back to when they were in school as Ron laughed at something that Theo had said, sputtering his Muggle beer on the table. This group of people would not have been seen with each other for fear. Fear of what; she almost didn't remember anymore.

Leaning into Draco's arm -which was up behind her in the booth they were sitting in- he looked over at her and gave her one of his signature smiles that she was getting used to seeing again. She smiled back and leaned in. Smelling his cologne on his neck, she inhaled deeply, sending a shiver down his spine.

Hermione smiled up at him, "I'm really glad you came out with us." Her speech slightly slurred, "I've missed you Draco, more than I think I realised. Every time I looked at our daughter, as she grew up, I wondered how you were. I'm glad you're here now."

Draco moved to kiss her on her forehead, "Just so you know, Granger," She grinned broader at him calling her Granger again, "There is no place I'd rather be right now…" She cocked an eyebrow at him as Harry laughed louder at something Blaise and Susan were telling him and he chuckled, "Okay, maybe that was a bit off, but I'd rather be here with you and this mismatched group of people, than still married to my bint of an ex."

"'Ere, 'ere!" Theo yelled out, clearly listening in on their conversation and raising a glass, "I'd say you better be on your best behaviour mate," He warned his oldest friend, "as I'm pretty sure everyone at this table will cut your bollocks off for hurting their princess." To empathise the point, the entire table began to bang on the table.

Draco smirked and leaned down, whispering in Hermione's ear, "If they think for a second I'm more scared of them than I am of you, they are all barmy."

Hermione chuckled and turned to him, brushing her red lips against his once more, "I thought you don't kiss on the first date Hermione," he teased.

She rolled her eyes and smirked back at him, "Good thing this isn't a date, Malfoy," she said wryly and kissed him once more. The hoots and hollering resounded around them again. Hermione heard none of it, all she heard was the pounding of her heart as it beat in time to the music and her ears. For that moment, there was nothing but the two of them and that kiss.

OoOoOoO

The bright rays filtered through the curtains, hitting Draco in the eyes. Groaning he turned and yelped as he fell off his perch and onto a fleshy cushion and a pained, "Ow! Fuck, git off me!" sounded through the room. Draco looked down to see a mass of black hair and lopsided glasses dangling off of Harry Potter's ear.

"Malfoy, get off me or I'll hex you," Harry grumbled, straightening his glasses he added, "And put some fucking clothes on!"

"Potter," Draco growled, shoving an elbow into Harry's stomach as he rolled to the floor and stood up, "What are you-" He looked around and noticed he was not at home, "How'd we get here?"

"Shut up Malfoy," Ginny grumbled under the coffee table. Draco smirked. How in the world did she get under there? She must have rolled away from her husband. Her pink dress discarded and under her husband's head. She had on Harry's blue vest and her Muggle slip.

"Malfoy." Harry snapped Draco's attention back to him, "Will you stop checking out my wife?"

Draco rolled his eyes, "I'm not checking her out, I don't even know what that means," Draco told him, "I'm wondering how she fit under the coffee table. She is unusually small isn't she?" He looked around. Ron and his wife were lying on the other side of the room. That's when he realised it was Hermione's living room.

Hermione walked through the door with vials of blue potion - Draco recognised as Sober-Up solution. Dressed in a pair of leggings, long fluffy jumper and socks. She handed him a potion and he drank it down gratefully, noting that his head cleared much faster than normal. She must have added a touch of Pepper- Up to it.

Draco grabbed her around the waist, picked her up and whirled her around. Not expecting this gesture, Hermione wrapped her legs around his torso and Harry yelled, "Hey, I know you two have shagged in the past, but I don't need to see it right now."

Hermione rolled her eyes. She grinned at Draco and sent a stinging hex at her best friend.

Harry yelped in pain and jumped up, "What was that for? There are no kids in the house?"

Hermione smirked, "Because you're a git and I can." She handed him a potion and placed the rest of them on the table as Ginny began to crawl out from under it. Hermione chuckled at her ginger friend and handed one of the bottles to her. "Peekey," Hermione called out.

Peekey the house elf appeared in a pretty pair of woolen tights and a purple dress with a small cardigan on her shoulders, "Yes Missy Minnie?"

Hermione, ignoring Draco's smirk at the little elf, "Peekey can you start breakfast please? Fry up and some Mexican food too. Burritos, tacos, menudo a mixture of it all please."

Peekey nodded and walked out of the room. Draco raised an eyebrow and Hermione chuckled, "She is used to these mornings. She knows apparating will cause everyone to yell in pain so she walks into the next room to apparate. She's a very polite elf that way."

Ron grumbled about noise and Hermione sent a hex his way. He jumped up in shock, tripped over his wife and landed face first onto the plush carpet. Hermione, Draco, Harry and Ginny all laughed so hard, they were rolling around on the carpet as well.

Lavender sat up, her dress mussed and looked around at her friends and family in tears of laughter around her. Looking down, she saw her husband face down and she just giggled.

Hermione, contained her mirth just enough to crawl over and hand Lavender a potion from the table. Lavender gulped it down and stood up. She and Ginny went upstairs to change.

Hermione pushed Ron on his side and poured a potion down his throat and then pulled him up as he started choking. She began thumping him on his back as Harry and Draco kept laughing at the now red faced man sputtering on the liquid. Giggling, she pushed him back on the carpet and laid down next to him.

"Last night was fun," she mused.

Ron began to laugh then, thinking back at their night at the club. Harry crawled over and laid on the other side of the redhead and chuckled.

"Malfoy, how many people pinched your ass?" Harry chortled. His best mates both had new fits of giggles.

Draco crawled over and laid his head on Hermione's stomach, oddly feeling comfortable around the trio of best friends, "Ha-ha," Draco countered as Hermione snorted again. He closed his eyes, remembering back to when they would be in her dorm, his head in her lap. As if it was automatic, her hand shot up to run through his hair. He bit back a moan. He had always loved the feeling of her slender fingers through his hair.

Ron lifted his head and looked over at his best girl friend running her hands through his one time enemy's hair, "This is bloody weird!" He announced, his two friends looked up at him, "We are laying here, the three of us, twelve years after the war against blood purity and we are friends with Draco fucking Malfoy. Does anyone else think this is bloody fucking weird? That twenty years ago, I tried to curse this git for calling Hermione a Mudblood and now she's caressing his hair and not to mention had a bloody child with him?"

Hermione began to frown and opened her mouth to argue but Ron brought up a hand, "I'm not saying it's bad 'Mione, I'm saying it's fucking weird. Malfoy isn't a bad bloke, but the turnabout we have come to is strange as fuck."

Hermione leant over and kissed him on the cheek, Ron grimaced, "Don't kiss me, I don't know where that mouth has been, have you gargled yet? I don't need to smell like Malfoy." Harry and Draco both doubled over again with mirth as Hermione smacked her oldest friend with that implication.

Blaise and Susan both walked into the room as Ron was shielding his face with one hand and other body parts with the other as Draco half heartedly held Hermione back while he chuckled.

"What is going on here," Blaise said with a grin at the scene. Hermione harrumphed and stood up to give Susan a hug.

"Nothing, Ron is just being Ron," Hermione said with mock outrage, "Did Landon make it in ok?"

Blaise just shrugged his shoulders, "I'm assuming he's fine, you know how he is. If he didn't make it home, he's making himself at home somewhere else." Blaise sniffed the air and moaned appreciatively, "Mmm, I smell Peakey's breakfast," He sniffed again, "Is she making everything?"

Hermione scoffed, "Of course she is, nothing better for the morning after." She squealed when Blaise grabbed her and swung her in the air, "Put me down you idiot, I may have had a potion, but I'm still a bit ill for this."

Blaise laughed and set her on the ground. Kissing her on the forehead, "Did I ever tell you, you are my favorite ex wife?"

Hermione snickered, "Remember that when I yell at you for whatever stupid thing you do next."

Blaise laughed as Ginny and Lavender walked in with red faces and guilty faces, Harry looked at his wife as she flushed even deeper, "What?"

Lavender tried not to laugh, "Um… we went up to the guest bath to get dressed and ready and…"

"We found Luna," Ginny whispered.

Harry gave his wife a confused look, "Luna came home with us last night?"

Lavender snickered, "Not us."

Her husband looked confused but Blaise and Hermione shared a look and Hermione began to laugh, "Oh I hope he knows what he got himself into."

Blaise smirked, "He got into Luna. Oh, I can't wait to see how this plays out."

Hermione smacked her ex on the shoulder telling him to behave as Theo and Pansy walked into the room, already dressed.

"Bloody hell Draco," Theo grumbled, putting his hands up, "Put some fucking clothes on will you? No one wants to see that."

"I wouldn't mind seeing it again…" Pansy whispered to Susan who giggled behind her hand.

Draco raised an eyebrow and smirked at his friend who rolled his eyes at his wife.

Ron stood up, "Wait, so who came home with Luna? Hermione did you bring her home?"

Hermione laughed, "No, I did not bring home Luna. I'm sure Landon is…" She stopped thinking for a moment. Taking out her wand she whispered, Expecto Patronum, a shimmery otter came flying out of her wand, "Landon St. James, when you are done in my bathroom, I expect it thoroughly scourgified. Breakfast is ready, come down... clothed, all of you." Her little otter nodded his head and floated up the stairs.

Blaise laughed. Hermione shrugged, "You know how he is, he'll forget there are others here and just come down in nothing."

"That man has lived on his own for too long." Blaise chuckled.

Hermione smirked, "I know for a fact that you did the same thing when we got divorced, probably still do when Marco is here, though," Hermione smirk grew, "I'm sure there is a purpose with Susan around."

Blaise put an arm around Susan, "Can you blame me? My girl is gorgeous." He kissed her on the forehead and that made Hermione smile brighter. She was truly happy for him.

Before anyone could answer, Landon walked in with Luna and a brunette man that the group was not familiar with.

Hermione went over and hugged Luna tightly with a knowing smirk at Landon who just gave her a sated smile.

Ron, recognising the man from the men's loo the night before, began to choke on his own spittle, Lavender started pounding on his back which sent Blaise into a round of chuckles.

Luna, smiled at the group as if she didn't just come down from a round of shagging in the bathroom. She introduced the man as Craig, her paramour. Craig swept his brown hair out of his green eyes and smiled at everyone.

"Luna," Hermione greeted with another squeeze, "How are you this morning? Did you have a good evening?"

Ron choked again, which made Hermione smirk even wider.

"My evening was wonderful," Luna said serenely, "Have you ever been on the receiving end of a sandwich? Much more powerful than being the filling."

Hermione bit her cheek to keep from smiling and laughing out loud as she shook her head no, "Um, no I haven't. It wasn't anything I've ever thought of trying."

"What does that even mean," Ron whispered just loud enough for Harry to hear.

Harry coughed to cover up his snicker, just shaking his head.

"You mean, you never tried with Blaise?" Luna inquired innocently.

Hermione chortled and Blaise just shook his head with a pained grimace as Susan chuckled.

"That was never something I wanted to try Luna," Blaise looked at Landon who just grinned brightly, "Not that that tosser ever took that as an answer the first hundred times he propositioned my wife."

Landon just shrugged, "You guys are a handsome couple. Of course I tried to get into your collective pants."

Hermione grinned, "He quit asking us after Blaise threatened to hang him outside of our fire escape without magic."

Everyone laughed as Peekey came in to let them know that breakfast was ready.

Draco had transfigured the gold shorts into a pair of joggers as they all made their way into the dining room where Peakey had set out a buffet of all sorts of foods, from eggs, made in every way possible, bacon, black pudding to burritos, tacos, cheeseburgers and fries. Peakey even went as far as putting out coffee, tea and Muggle fizzy drinks as well as juice.

Landon groaned in appreciation, picked up the little elf and kissed her on the cheek. Cradling her like a small child, he mumbled how she was the best elf a man could have.

Peekey, used to this treatment from the man, apparated right out of his hands and back into the kitchen.

Shrugging, Landon grabbed a plate and began to dig in, not waiting for anyone else. He grabbed a bit of everything, but the black pudding - saying that was not the way he liked his sausage. Laughing everyone grabbed their plates and ate their fill, spending the morning eating and joking.

Theo, being Theo, was very inquisitive with Craig and Luna, wanting to know who exactly was the meat in the sandwich. Luna, smiling brightly, asked him which time and Theo, imagination taking hold of him, began to pour hot coffee in his lap. That brought on another round of raucous laughter to the table.

Hermione had noticed that there was an article in the Prophet about their outing into Wizarding London the previous night, even a photo of her arm in arm with Draco. However there was nothing salacious about the report. It had made the frontpage. The Golden Trio normally did when they went out together. Though there was no mention of ex death eaters, just: Draco Malfoy and Hermione Zabini… Dating? With a photo of Blaise in the background looking on fondly, not at all like a spurned ex. Of course there were blurbs of witches and wizards who were against the pairing, but that was natural. There were many who were upset that Draco was new to the dating scene again and already snapped up by a war heroine. All in all, the article could have been worse, but it was fair, which was all Hermione cared about.

OoOoOoO

Draco had been having dinner at home when his mother floo'd in from her cottage. He heard the floo and knew it had to be her. No one came over at this time at night and with a small smile, she sat next to him, awaiting his acknowledgment.

"Hello mother," he said, as he finished his dinner, "How are you this evening?"

"Draco Lucius Malfoy," Narcissa scolded and Draco looked up at her harsh tone, "Don't you ask me how my evening is when this is in the paper," she held up the Prophet article, "Why did I find this out like this? That you spent last night in the company of Ms. Zabini?"

"There is nothing to tell just yet mother," Draco insisted, "Cassie and Scorpius came in for the evening to go Muggle trick or treating and then the adults went out afterwards. That is it."

Narcissa gave him a knowing look, "Really? Then why does it say you are dating? What is this picture in the paper where you are gazing at her lovingly?" Draco tinged pink, "Why does it say the photographer witnessed a kiss? I thought you said you weren't going to pursue her?"

"Do you disapprove?" Draco asked, confusion in his grey eyes.

Narcissa soften her blue eyes to her only son, "Of course not," she said soothingly, "I would like nothing better than for you to finally be happy. I only want to know why I am finding out from third party sources and not from my own son."

"I'm sorry mother, it's been a rather long week."

"So long that you couldn't tell your mother that this is not the first or only kiss you have shared with Hermione since she has re-entered your life?" Narcissa asked with a sly smile.

Draco narrowed his eyes, "Who are you speaking to? Pansy? Theo? Those two could never keep a secret."

Narcissa laughed, "Pansy had tea with me today. She mentioned your evening out. As well as your very revealing costume and the wonderful time you seem to have had with the witch last night. She also mentioned that you have a date pending with the lovely Hermione."

Draco shook his head, incredulously, "Yes mother, we will be going on a date in the near future," Narcissa's eyes lit up and Draco snickered, "Do not get carried away mother. It's just a date, it's been a long time. We may not be compatible anymore."

Narcissa let out a very unladylike snort which caused Draco to look at her in shock, "Not compatible my foot. I've seen the looks that pass between the two of you over the last six weeks. It's simply not possible for you two to be anything but perfect."

Draco laughed, "We'll see, we are suppose to be going out this coming weekend."

Narcissa cheered up at that knowledge and began listing off things for them to do, to go… maybe they should portkey to Paris… maybe Greece… Dinner is a must, but maybe dancing in Spain…

She spent the rest of the evening having dessert with Draco and trying to plan the perfect date for her son who just watched her fondly. Knowing his mother had the best of intentions, but she didn't know Hermione the way he did. His witch would be happy with dinner and Muggle movie. Not that that was going to be his plan. They weren't teenagers anymore, he would have a beautiful night planned for her. It was, after all, to be their first date. It needed to be special because Draco realised, she was very special to him. He had some planning to do.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Hello everyone, so I missed my self appointed deadline of September 22 (Happy birthday Tom Felton) by 4 days, but I have a great excues... no... I fib, I really don't. I had a paper that I was suppose to be writing that could have been my excuse but I didn't start it until days later. Anyways, I have it now, that is the point. Class has started again so updates might take time because I'm in a class I'm not completely fond of, but what else to do when you're grinding for your bachelors. Anyways, this chapter is dedicated to my Wandlore friend,** ** _Brittany H_** **. Tomorrow is her birthday and surprisingly, I finished a day early. I hope it's a great day Brit!**

 **Beta love to Blue once again of Avis1675.**

 **Peace, Love and Slyther,**

 **Gimi aka Jess**

Draco spent the next few days planning a date he was sure Hermione would love. They might have been apart for the last decade, but Hermione will always be the same deep down. She would have an appreciation for what he had in store.

Theo had been waiting for him in his office when Draco came back from errands. Looking up from his daze, Draco started at the man sitting at his desk, "Theo what are you doing in here?"

Theo turned to his friend with a grin, "What am I doing? Working. The real question is what are you doing?" Standing up, Theo had a handful of parchment in his hands, "I need all of these signed by you. But you have been missing the last couple of days. I wonder what is going on with you?"

Draco, ignoring the amused look on Theo's face, took the stack of parchment from him and began to look through them. He pointed his wand at pages that just needed a quick signature and put aside the pages he would have to look at more thoroughly.

Theo sat on the edge of Draco's desk, swinging his foot back and forth, purposely kicking the desk with his heel.

Draco's eye twitched with each thwack! of his friend's foot. After about two minutes though, he could not ignore it. Draco watched his friend's foot swing up and just as it hit the desk, he waved his hand and placed a sticking charm on it.

Theo, not expecting this, almost fell off the desk. This action made Draco chuckle at his friend. "Funny, git," Theo grumbled as he tried to move his foot, which was firmly held in place.

This made Draco snicker at his friend who- knowing his foot was stuck with magic- still tried to release his foot without thinking of ending the spell first.

Draco waved his hand and removed the spell just as Theo built up momentum and then he really did fall off the desk. Draco, not expecting him to fall, fell back in his chair laughing hysterically at his friend sprawled on the floor.

"Why'd you fall?" Draco gasped out after he could breathe again.

Theo stood up, rotating his ankle, checking for injury and then sent a tickling hex at his partner and friend. Draco, knowing he would do something of that sort, blocked the hex and chuckled again.

"Like I can control falling when you released the spell, asshole." Theo grumbled, but snickered at his own tumble.

Draco had to say this about his friend, at least he knew when to laugh at himself. "So where were you? You haven't been in the office much the last few days, got your date sorted out?"

Draco grinned broadly, "I do," he then shook his head at his friend, "nope. You have a big mouth and so does your wife. Just know, she will love it."

"I hope so Drake," Theo said sincerely, "You haven't been this happy for as long as I remember, not since Scorpius was born I think. I hope everything works out the way you want it to."

Draco looked at his friend, hope filling his grey eyes, "I think it will, for once in my life. I think it will."

OoOoOoO

Draco did have a night that Hermione would have loved. Would have being the right words. The days leading up to their date was filled with mishaps.

First Hermione was supposed to go to New York. Some dilemma happened with their office in the states. At the last moment Blaise decided to go for her; they didn't know how long she would have to be there and he didn't want her missing any of their planned meetings, or her date.

Next Draco had to floo to their destination to work out some hiccup that happened with his reservation.

The final straw happened the day of their date as Marco's school had called her in the morning. Marco had come in from their free period with a high fever and needed to be picked up. Molly Weasley had told Hermione he would be fine staying at the Burrow, but Marco insisted he stay with his mother.

Finally admitting defeat, Hermione owled Draco that she had to cancel their plans as Marco was very ill and needed his own bed and his mother. Sighing deeply as she watched her barn owl leave its perch from her attic with the note, she remembered her words to Draco that first meeting: maybe it wasn't meant to be. As the bird became a pinprick in the distance, she left the attic to see how Marco was doing.

OoOoOoO

Draco was just about to leave his office for home when Hermione's owl found its way to his desk. Taking the scroll from the bird and offering the bowl of treats on the desk to the bird, he opened it and groaned. Pansy, walking by his office to meet her husband, heard him and went in.

"What has you looking foul Draco?" His oldest friend asked as the owl took off through the open window, "Isn't it date night? Shouldn't you be jumping up and down like an excited Hufflepuff?"

Draco held up the note, "Marco is sick, she had to cancel."

Pansy, being nosy, grabbed the note from him and frowned, "Well this is unfortunate, but why do you have to cancel?"

Draco just sighed, "I had a whole night planned. I bought out the Austrian National Library for the evening, don't laugh," Draco scolded as Pansy sniggered at the thought of a night at a library. It was so Granger, "We were going to have dinner there, the library is beautiful, for the Baroque period. The ceilings are painted with Muggle angels, clouds and the bookcases are dark wood with goldleaf detail. It's just the sort of thing she would love."

Pansy saw the sadness in his grey eyes and began to feel sad for him as well. They had grown up together. At one time, she thought she was going to marry Draco, but then realised they were much more like brother and sister. She wanted him to be happy, he hadn't been happy since they were little. It was his time.

"Well, this just means you change your plans." Pansy said confidently, "I may not know Granger very well yet, but she doesn't seem like the type to be overly charmed by big romantic gestures. Though I'm sure she would have loved dinner in a library," she couldn't help another snicker, "But I'm sure a nice dinner at home would work just as well."

"It's our first real date," Draco drawled, "I was aiming for a little more than dinner at home."

Pansy rolled her eyes, "She is a mother first you prat, it wouldn't matter if you were planning to bring her to the moon for dinner. Marco will come first."

Draco actually growled at his friend, "I know that, I'm not an idiot." Pansy rolled her eyes again and he threw a quill at her as she laughed, "I would rather she take care of her child then go out with me. I'd rather she not be Astoria." Pansy scrunched up her nose and Draco laughed, "Yes, a real lady my ex. I'm just deciding what to do now, tonight will have to be changed." Looking at his friend, "Why don't you and Theo go in our place? The elves already have everything planned, you just have to show up."

Pansy perked up, the setting wasn't really her, but she was sure it would be beautiful and romantic knowing her friend, "Why thank you Draco, you are too kind."

Draco chuckled and rolled his eyes as she left his office, blowing him a kiss and going to her husband's office. Grabbing a handful of powder from the pot at the floo, he took it to the manor to get supplies. Their night out was out of the question, but that didn't mean their date was cancelled.

OoOoOoO

Hermione had spent the afternoon in full mum mode: trips to and from the kitchen, playing Muggle board games, wizard's chess, exploding snaps, cups and cups of tea, juice and anything else to keep Marco happy, and even watching Muggle cartoons while laid out on the sofa.

While she was a bit put out that she had to cancel on Draco, she would be lying if she said she would rather be out than taking care of her son. She had always loved being a mum, when she was in school, she had never thought that she would have a family so soon. She had thought she would finish school and move on to working at the ministry and changing the world for the better. Then she found out she was pregnant while at school and her entire world changed. She mourned her brief life of ministry worker and set to changing her dreams to include a child.

Blaise had helped with that, he had always supported her in what she wanted to do. When she found that she could take her war earnings and use it to trade on the Muggle stock market and then use that to start their own business, he encouraged her to do it.

Blaise had never hated Muggles or Muggle-borns. He kept his views to himself because that kind of thinking was not something to shout about in the snake pit, but he had spent time in the Muggle world so relocating to New York was not a big deal for him. The living amongst Muggles; it was something he did because Hermione needed it.

When Cassie came, Hermione could not think of anything better. She was able to work from home if she needed to, she was able to bring Cassie to the office, it was the best of both worlds and she couldn't think of why she wanted to wait for children. Being her own boss, she was able to spend as much time with her family as she wanted while she worked. Even now, with Marco sick, she would be able to work if she needed to, making floo calls as well as Muggle ones to her business partners and clients.

Not today though, today it was just her and Marco. They spent the day lying about and Hermione was just wondering if she should see about making him some dinner when there was a chime alerting her to someone arriving by floo. Walking into the traveling room, she smiled brightly at the blond standing there with a bag.

"Draco, what are you doing here?" She asked confused.

"I got your note about Marco and even though we had to cancel our going out plans, thought you could use some reinforcements," Draco said, he held up the bag, "I've got soup, some of Scorp's old games he won't miss, a few quidditch figur-" Draco was interrupted by a bone-crushing hug from Hermione.

"Thank you," Hermione whispered before she brought his head down to her for a kiss.

Draco dropped the bag onto the floor and snaked his hands around her waist and deepened the kiss, his tongue prodding her lips to gain him entrance. Granting him this, she groaned in delight at the feel of him again. She just couldn't get enough of this man.

"Mum!" a small voice brought the adults back to reality, pulling apart and panting deeply, Hermione chuckled slightly, "One moment Marco," She called out to her son.

Draco snickered, "You know, you keep telling me you don't kiss on the first date, but I've gotten more than plenty before the date even gets here."

Hermione blushed that pretty pink and Draco wondered if it still crept up her entire body before shaking that image out of his head. That would not be happening tonight. He knew that for sure.

"I'm just so surprised you're here. I was expecting a slow mum and son night."

"I can leave if you'd like," Draco offered, hoping beyond hope that she wouldn't take him up on it, "I just remember how hard it is to have a sick child, Scorpius was unbelievably stubborn," he smirked at her eyebrow raise, "He gets it from his mother. I use to have to play countless games with him, stories and make his favorite soup because Mip never made it right."

Hermione looked in the bag she picked up from the carpet and examined the container of warm soup, "You cook?" She said incredulously.

Draco laughed, "Yes, I make a total of three things: soup, hot chocolate and scrambled eggs." He leaned over to whisper in her ear, "Don't tell Scorp," his warm breath sent tingles down her spine to the tips of her toes, "But Mip actually makes the soup, but I'm a pro at reheating it."

Hermione laughed, looking him in the eye, "That's pathetic Draco."

He grinned unashamedly, "What can I say? We always had elves. Mip teaches me sometimes, but all I've mastered really is eggs."

Still giggling, she grabbed his arm and led him back into the living room where Marco had began chanting her name.

Perking up at the sight of his parent's friend, Marco and Draco played with the quidditch figurines using the miniature pitch Draco had shrunk to fit in the bag.. Loaded with soup, pumpkin juice and some fruit, she went back to watch the game unfold on the floor of the living room.

She watched as Draco seem to bond with her son and her heart fluttered at an uncontrollable speed. She loved that he was taking this time to connect with Marco. He didn't have to, but he sat here on the floor, dressed in his suit trousers and dress shirt, his jacket being abandoned on the arm of a nearby chair, playing quidditch and having a good time.

Marco ate the soup and had some juice but began to feel tired so Hermione took him upstairs. She read him his favorite story from when he was little and he fell asleep. All the attention he had gotten that day and the fever took a lot out of him. Hermione, put his stuffed hippogriff under his arm and gave him a small kiss on his forehead. Relief flooded her that his high temperature reduced significantly.

Closing the door to his room, she returned down to the living room where she had thought she'd find Draco. Finding it empty, her heart sank a bit that he had left. Knowing he wouldn't leave without saying good bye, she frowned and called out for him.

His voice echoed through the hall. Following it, she found herself in the kitchen with Draco's back to her. He was leaned over the stove, the sizzle of whatever he was cooking, making it's way to her ears and the delicious smells flirting with her senses.

"Draco, what are you doing?" She asked lamely, walking fully into the kitchen and clearly realising by looking at him that he was cooking something. Moving over to look over… well around… his shoulder she saw potatoes boiling, minced lamb on a plate waiting to be used, while knives were dicing onions, garlic and carrots on the counter next to the stove. After another few chops with the knives, they made their way to the counter and the cutting board made it's way to drop the veg into the pan where Draco had some oil heating.

Draco chuckled lightly at the jaw dropped at his side as he stirred the veg to coat them evenly and let them sit to soften, "I'm making dinner of course, I wasn't expecting you down for another hour at least," he teased, caressing her nose and making her scrunch it it up, adorably, "I know how much you love to read out loud."

"I thought you said all you could cook was premade soup?" She accused lightly, walking over to her wine rack and selected a nice bordeaux for their meal and then to her chill box and grabbed a bottle she already had opened and poured Draco and herself each a glass. He wagged an eyebrow at her with a knowing smirk. She rolled her eyes and smiled back, "This is for now, the other for dinner."

Draco smiled at her, "I lied," he turned back to his cooking, "I actually find it soothing to sometimes cook, my mum and I use to bake biscuits when I was a boy."

Hermione chuckled, walking over to hand him his glass of wine, "Draco Malfoy is a baker? What's for dessert, Mister Malfoy?"

Draco laughed again, "Well, I didn't make dessert this time, see, I wasn't anticipating staying home, so Mip made dessert, she will bring it later."

Draco finished making his cottage pie. Hermione was thoroughly impressed that he even knew what a stove was, let alone how to use one. They spent time in the kitchen as he cooked and mashed and sauteed. Draco looked every bit attractive as a man in an apron could look as he scooped the mash a top the gravy and stuck in the oven to brown. Hermione had opened the wine to breathe and was about to pour it and sit at the table she had in the kitchen when he pulled the wine from her hand and led her out of the kitchen and back into the living room.

Once in the living room, Hermione gasped. While they were in the kitchen he had his elf set a table in front of the fire. The orange and red flames bouncing light off of the table. On the table were candles. Tapered as well as tea candles were used as a centerpiece and a light sprinkle of rose petals on the table. Soft music was playing into the room, some low classical piece as background noise. Draco cringed at the petals, mumbling something about Mip was too much a romantic on top of a crisp white table cloth. Cream colored linen napkins sat on top of their plates with an ornate golden M. Hermione giggled at the clearly romantic setting that Draco knew nothing about the extent of.

Draco looked at her sheepishly, "I asked her to set out a setting for two, but the elf has a mind of her own, I did not expect such a grand display or I would have made something a bit more fitting."

Hermione smiled and gave him a kiss on the cheek, "It's perfect," and she sat down. Sitting on the other side, they began on the salad that Mip had placed on the table, until the little elf brought out Draco's supper and served, later bringing in the chocolate mousse and fruit she had whipped up for her master and his love. Also leaving extra in the refrigerator for the young master Zabini who was sick.

Hermione sat there, her stomach thoroughly satisfied from the lovely meal that Draco and his elf had made for her. That was something new for her, although she had loved Blaise and he had cooked a few meals for the family when she was not able due to work. He had never thought to make her a meal for a date, this was not the same pureblood she remembered from school, this was a thoughtful man who brought over games and soup, playing games for hours with her sick son and then made her a delicious meal. It was truly a wonderful first date.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I've got nothing to say except for- Those who follow America's Calling, it will be moving over to Kate's personal site soon. She is going to be re-writing parts of it and by the end of the fic, she would have written most of it so we feel that it is right for her to take it to her page. I have plans for another America fic using the school so WAM will live on in my world as well. Co-writing can be hard, but it was definitely fun and I can't wait to see how she ends it. She should be updating it soon and then editing it so that she can bring to life on her page. Special beta love to Blue, whom loves this story as much as I do.**  
 **Peace, Love and Slyther,**  
 **Gimi aka Jess**

November began without any real drama. Landon had become a regular house guest for both Blaise and Hermione; whomever wasn't sick of him at that moment. Coming to visit every couple days, because of his job, he had a regular portkey that he could have set to any destination - High profile American wizarding photographer and all. Hermione never minded, he was almost like having another child in the house, just this one could drink wine with her.

Draco and Hermione had taken to spending their weekends together. They would spend time with Blaise and Susan, the four of them would take Marco to Hogsmeade to visit with Cassie and Scorpius; Something Draco had set up with the Headmistress so the children could spend time together as newly formed siblings. Scorpius had begun to think of Marco as a younger brother as he also began to like his new found sister. They would meet at the Three Broomsticks for lunch and talk about school.

Cassie had promised she was on her best behaviour. The children had only gotten in detention a few times when she and Scorpius had taken turns hexing Scorpius' cousin - Gregory Jr, for spreading rumors that Cassie's mother was a slag. Hermione had turned purple and was thinking of a curse she could use on Daphne Goyle when Scorpius turned to her and told her that Cassie had punched Greg in the nose and had broken it- threatening to break his leg the next time he opened his mouth in front of the entire Potions class; last time he had said it out loud.

"It was great!" Scorpius grinned, "Greg was gushing blood and he cried, father. The whole of Slytherin is scared of Cassie because she's the daughter of two Slytherins and Hermione Granger." He looked over at his half sister, "It doesn't hurt that she's not afraid to hex the lot of them."

Hermione looked at her daughter with disapproval, "You can't go around hitting people Cassie. This is the second time you've resorted to Muggle violence." She scolded.

"Why not? They're all purebloods - they expect wands. They didn't even expect a punch to the nose," Cassie whinged. Her blonde hair bouncing as she lolled it to one side. "They can't go around saying that stuff about my family and expect me to not do something. No one talks about my family and gets away with it."

Blaise was sitting next to his kids and pointing at her, mouthing "She is YOUR daughter!" giving a thumbs up and a nod. Susan saw this and smacked him on the back of the head for Hermione, who gave the blonde a thank you grin and a smirk to her ex.

Hermione just stared at her daughter, "You are so much like your father."

Cassie grinned at her mother, "I know."

Blaise laughed, "I've never punched anyone. I think that is all you Cara."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Yes, I know she gets that from me, but I meant the overprotective nature, that is clearly the both of you."

Draco smirked, "You say overprotective like it's a bad thing. I think it's good she shows them her ability up front."

Hermione stared at Draco, "She broke your nephew's nose."

Draco chuckled, "You broke mine. Besides, he's no longer my nephew as I'm sure Daphne has seen to." Looking at his son, he continued, "But Scorp, he's still your cousin."

Scorpius stared at the table, "Actually father, he told me he wasn't. His mother said for him that he isn't allowed to talk to me anymore, that I was a blood..."

Draco began to see red and was just about to rant when Hermione pulled Scorpius over to her and gave him a hug, "Don't worry about him Scorp," she told him, looking him in the eyes. She could see the hurt radiating from behind his grey eyes, "You have Cassie and Marco. James, Albus and all the other Weasleys. We are all family and you will always have us."

"Does that mean I have to share my rooms?" Marco whinged, "Because that isn't fair. Cassie doesn't have to share her rooms, mum we need another girl so Cassie has to share." Marco thought about it a little bit more, "Actually we need two more, I already share with Owen sometimes too."

Draco and Blaise both sputtered, they were both taking a drink from their butterbeers when Marco made his request for more siblings. Hermione grinned broadly at Blaise and then looked over at her son, "You will have to ask Papa about that Marco."

Marco looked at his mother, "What about you and Mr. Draco? I'm not stupid mum, you don't have to lie to me. I'm nine, almost an adult."

Blaise snickered as Hermione flushed, "Yes, almost an adult, I see that now Marco." She ignored the smirk she could feel directed at her from Draco, "Draco and I aren't having any kids." Cassie's eyebrow shot into her curly blonde hair. Hermione couldn't help a giggle of her own, "Any more." Draco snickered again and she flicked her finger at his ear like she usually did with Marco. That made Marco laugh as Draco frowned and rubbed his now throbbing ear.

Cassie turned to her mother, realisation in her eyes, "Mum, are you dating my other father like the paper says?"

Hermione stared at her daughter with a look of amusement, "I guess I am."

Cassie giggled, "You guess? Are we guessing? I'm guessing that Marco is a turkey."

"Hey," Marco grumbled, "I'm guessing your a white haired monkey butt!"

"You're such a prat Marco," Cassie teased.

"Am not, you are!" He answered back, sticking his tongue out at her and tossed a chip at her. Scorpius snickered. He had never really been around siblings that teased each other like this. Carter and Parker, but they were taught to behave in front of company. Throwing food would not have been tolerated. The Zabini children just acted like what he always thought siblings should act around each other. Both Marco and Cassie looked over and threw chips at him, laughing when one stuck in his hair.

Marco's eyes lit up, "Mum, speaking of turkey." He started glancing with a smirk at his sister, "Are we going to have Thanksgiving this year?"

Cassie's eyes grew wide and sad, "No! Mum, no you can't!"

Scorpius looked confused, "What is Thanks-giving?" Draco looked just as baffled and Hermione and Blaise both groaned.

"Mum, that's not fair, they don't celebrate at school and I WANT TURKEY!" Cassie all but shouted.

"Cassie, they serve turkey at the school," Hermione reasoned.

Cassie shook her head stubbornly and tears began to well in her eyes, "It's not the same. You can't have Thanksgiving without me! It's my favorite holiday."

"Cassie Love," Blaise said looking at his sad daughter, his heart aching, "It's not even our holiday. It's an American Muggle holiday, no one in the U.K. celebrates Thanksgiving."

The tears spilled over, "I don't care," She cried. Scorpius looked slightly perturbed at his sister's outburst over a holiday, "It's my favorite. It's not the holiday itself, but it's family time and I miss everyone so much. It's time for mum and I to cook and watch as you try and figure out how to slice it without cutting off your hand. Time to make paper turkeys that you charm to dance around the room for us. Please don't have it without me." She looked over at her new brother, "It's Scor's first holiday with us as family, he deserves to know what it's like to be so stuffed he'll feel like a turkey himself."

Hermione rolled her eyes, "How many more times are you going to use the, 'This is Scorpius' first with us' line?"

Cassie looked up thoughtfully as she was contemplating the question. "Um…" she counted off silently on her fingers, "at least nine." Scorpius smiled brightly. Cassie elbowed him in the side and looking over at his sister, she motioned with her eyes at her mom.

Catching what she meant quietly he looked up at Hermione, who had been chuckling at this scene. Scorpius looked at her with wide eyes and Draco rubbed his head and laughed. Marco also looked at his mother, managing watery wide eyes.

"Please mum." Marco and Cassie chorused in unison. Even though he had been egging his sister on, he still wanted her to come home for a few days. He missed having her around all the time.

Cassie elbowed Scorpius again and he jumped, "Uh, please Hermione?" Hermione really did start laughing at this. Cassie even got Scorpius in on her manipulations.

She looked up at Blaise who was laughing into the table by this time. He looked up and she shot him a look that said, These are your children right here. And he smirked right back at her. Hermione narrowed her eyes, "Yes, you can come home for the weekend and we'll have a sort of Thanksgiving."

"Can we invite everyone? The Weasleys… oh and can we see if we can bring the ones at school too? Uncle Harry and Aunt Ginny?"

She looked over at her ex-husband with his infuriating smirk and gave him an evil grin, "We will have to have it at your father's house." Blaise stopped smirking and frowned, "His house is much bigger than ours." Blaise thought to how many people would be in attendance, "We can even see if all the Weasley cousins can come for the weekend, to celebrate our new additions to the family."

All the kids were very excited about this, but Blaise was less than pleased, "Cara, how many turkeys are you planning on making?"

Hermione looked at him innocently, "None Love, we're having it at your house, you know the rules. It's at your house, you have to cook."

Blaise glared at his ex, "I don't have room for the entire Weasley clan to eat at my house Love and you know I can't cook."

Hermione grinned at him, "Susan can help, I'm sure Mrs. Weasley will love to stop by or make some of her delicious puddings, but the turkey is all you, but I would make enough food for thirty five extra. We will have to invite Mum and Dad, Eliana and Narcissa of course. I'm sure Landon will want to come, you know how he loves Thanksgiving."

"No," Blaise shook his head, "Hermione there is no way we can have a Thanksgiving for thirty five people. We can't fit thirty five in my home."

"We can at the Manor," Scorpius spoke up.

At the mention of Manor Draco shot up. "Scor, I don't think the Weasleys will want to come to the Manor."

"But father," Scorpius sniffled, "Cassie wants a giant family gathering, it's our first family event and the manor is big enough. I'm sure Grandmother will love it."

Blaise and Hermione both perked up, it was nice when it wasn't one of their kids doing the manipulating. Cassie looked so proud of her little brother.

"Can we Draco," Cassie begged, grey eyes wide with hope. "I'm sure the Weasleys will be okay with it, puhlease!"

"Puhlease!" The two boys chimed in and Hermione, Blaise and Susan all began to snicker at the look of incredulity on Draco's face.

"Fine, but since I don't know what a Thanksgiving is, Hermione will have to explain it to Mip so she can make the meal."

Cassie shook her head, "Thanksgiving can't be made by elves." She scolded, "It has to be made by hand, the Muggle way."

The look on Draco's face was priceless, he looked over at Blaise who was laughing. Cassie looked over at her father, "Mum and Papa can help," She thought about this a moment, "Well, mum can help. Papa can't do much but burn pie in the kitchen. It's why Peekey is mostly at his house. He can't cook very much, at least not a turkey."

Blaise would have looked offended, but he knew his daughter was right. He was not bad with cooking charms, but having to do it the Muggle way, he nearly cut off a finger last time he helped Hermione in the kitchen.

Hermione huffed, "I will help, Merlin this is going to be a process." Hermione was already thinking of how she could split up the work, there was no way she could cook for forty people without help or magic, "Cassie, we are going to have to use Peekey and even Mip for help, there is no way to make a meal this big without it."

Cassie pouted, this was not tradition, "But Mum, it's not the same. You told me that."

"Love, that was a meal for just us and Nonna," Blaise reasoned, "sometimes Landon. But if you want to invite the whole Weasley family, plus Grandma and Granddad Granger, that is a lot of food."

"But Papa," Cassie's lip quivered. Blaise looked on sternly and she knew she wasn't getting her way. It was a lot of food to make, "Oh okay, fine. But I want us to make the pumpkin pies Papa, you and me. Please?"

Blaise smiled at his little blonde haired beauty, "Yes, Love. Of course we will, it's not Thanksgiving if we don't make our traditional pies."

"You bake Blaise?" Susan asked surprised.

The Zabini family all laugh, "Papa can only make pie," Marco giggled, "He and Cassie make them every year, but Mum has to watch them, they get so caught up that one year they forgot to put in the sugar. It was the yuckiest pie in the history of pies. Mum and I stopped eating it, but Cassie and Papa kept going. Cassie just added more whipped cream saying it was delicious."

Cassie stuck her nose up, "It was." Even Blaise laughed this time. Cassie just smiled, in reality the pie was disgusting, but she ate it because she had made it with her Papa and that made it one of the best pies ever.

Hermione giggled and began planning in her head. There was a lot to do in a short amount of time. Of course Cassie would want to invite the entire Weasley family.

"We should see if Parker and Carter can come too!" Hermione groaned, her list just got longer.

"Cassie, we can't take the whole of Hogwarts out for a family weekend. Headmistress McGonagall won't approve."

"But-" Cassie stopped abruptly at the stern look both her parents gave her. She pouted, knowing she had reached her limit, "Fine." She looked over at Scorpius and gave him a look that clearly said, sorry.

The kids continued to chat with their parents, Hermione only half listening as she was still planning her Thanksgiving attack. Molly would help cook some of it, Ginny too. Why had she insisted on the 'No magic rule' again? Never had she thought she'd be trying to make a meal for forty without magic, but there was a first time for everything right?

The mismatched family finished with their visit, laughter and teasing could be heard throughout the pub. There was so much going on, no one heard a glass break in the booth behind the group. When the family got up to leave, there was no longer anyone there, just a broken glass and a stained napkin.

OoOoOoO

Hermione had set it up for all the children to be released for a weekend, two weeks after their visit with the children. All of the Zabinis, Susan and Owen were all spending the weekend at Malfoy Manor at Draco's insistence since there was a lot of work to be done for this dinner. Hermione could tell he was trying to make it the best he could, for Cassie especially, and might be a tad overwhelmed at the 'No Magic' rule. She had gone to the manor first to help while Blaise and Harry had been volunteered to bring all the kids home from school. More like, they lost the galleon toss.

Blaise landed in the entrance of Malfoy Manor with Susan, Cassie, Marco, Owen and Scorpius in tow; he immediately saw the changes Draco had made to his ancestral home. Gone were the dark woods in favor of paint. The tall walls were covered in a light cream with a moss green trim. The furnishings were dark, but not black, favoring instead forest green and even maroon high backed chairs. The floor was no longer a black walnut but a lighter teak under the rug. It was a very different home than when Blaise was a child playing through these halls.

Scorpius smiled as Mip popped into the room, greeting all the guests and vanishing all the bags to their respective rooms. Scorpius and the boys went off running leaving Blaise and Susan to find Draco and Hermione. After yelling, at disappearing backs, to behave; Blaise and Susan began walking through the room in search of their friends.

Throughout the manor Blaise marvelled at all the changes made to the home. It was light and airy. Walls were painted in various shades of cream or papered. Tall windows were erected where previously there were none; bringing in natural light but charmed to keep out the cold or heat.

Mip popped up while they were in the hall to inform them that, "Master and Missy Mione were in the kitchens." Blaise took Susan's hand and made his way down to the kitchens, surprised that he still knew the way.

Once in the corridor of the downstairs kitchens, Blaise could hear Hermione's laugh coming from down the hall. He smiled, he had missed that particular laugh. The laugh of a completely at ease Hermione. It had taken a while to get her to laugh like that in the beginning, maybe a few months after Cassie had been born; it was one of his favorite sounds. Over the years, they had shared a lot of laughter in their family. At the end, there was still laughter, but it had not been the same. He hadn't heard it much over the past year.

Stepping into the kitchen, he noticed this was different too. While still big, it was warm. The walls were brick; whether real bricks or a wall treatment, he wasn't sure. It reminded him of the kitchen of their Italian home. Dark wood cabinets, large island in the middle for preparations, double stoves, all accented in bronze and stainless. Looking over, he was surprised to see that there was a little sitting area and table in the kitchen; alluding to the fact that Draco actually spent time there. When they were children the only place they ate was above in one of the dining rooms or parlor for tea.

Hermione's melodic giggle filled the air again along with the deep chuckle of Draco Malfoy. Blaise glanced over at the sound and a huge grin overtook his face at the sight. There, running around the island prep table was his ex wife and his best friend in the middle of what looked like a war zone. Flour was all over, including Hermione's curls; she looked just like Cassie in that instance. Bowls were overturned, milk had been knocked over and the dregs of the container were pooling onto the floor. Eggs laid cracked on the counter and one was even dripping down Draco's ear; shell fragments still on top of his head. A pad of butter lay discarded in a pan that was half buttered and the two adults in question were throwing little discs of what looked like sliced carrots at each other.

The two of them were dancing around the island laughing and playing keep away. Grabbing more carrots from a bowl that was sitting on the island. Draco made a mad dash for Hermione and knowing she couldn't outrun him for fear of slipping on the food covered floor, kept chucking food at him as he brought his arms around her waist. She laughed as he lifted her up off the ground and twirled her around. She brought her hands up and ran her hands through his hair, chuckling at the pieces of shell she had pulled out.

Draco set her on her feet, her body sliding down his. He brought one finger up her waist, over her curves and to her cheek. He leaned in and gave her a kiss, tender at first, then fuller and more aggressive. Pulled her flush against his body, one hand finding its way around her waist again and the other settling near the curve of her breast; his thumb running along the bottom of her swell.

Susan let out a chuckle at the pair of them and they both looked up from their kiss. Hermione spotted them first, smiled brightly and chucked all the carrots she held at Draco, running over to Susan and giving her a floury hug. She then gave one to Blaise along with a kiss on the cheek.

"Love," Blaise said with a chuckle, "I thought you were meant to help prep, not redecorate."

Hermione looked around at the disaster, Draco was still standing in the middle, looking around, chuckling at the obvious mess they had created in the midst of their lighthearted food fight.

"What were you trying to make?" Susan asked between giggles.

"We were going to bake a cake," Hermione said with a laugh as Draco began to pull more of the egg out of his hair. Giving up, he grabbed his wand and siphoned it out and began cleaning up.

Susan gave her a knowing look and a smile, "Well, continue baking. Blaise and I are going to find the children."

Blaise gave his ex a kiss on the cheek and whispered, "Love you Mi." Hermione hugged him before he left and whispered back, a piece of her breaking because she will always feel a bit guilty about Blaise. Blaise was her anchor, he was her support, her everything and now it was more than obvious that he was relinquishing that position. She would have to find a way to anchor herself a bit more on her own.

Blaise and Susan both left her there at the door, contemplating how she was going to do just that as she looked over at Draco. He had vanished their mess and had gone back to measuring flour into a bowl. This little mundane thing made her heart sing, maybe she would be okay here. Maybe Draco would be helpful in balancing her and helping find her anchor. More and more, he was becoming her true north. Her life jacket in the storm, he was taking the place that was once filled with Blaise and this time, this time, there were no pieces to pick up and put back together, this time, her heart was not broken.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Hello all, this is more family time with a little bit of light lemons at the end. Oh, I have some pretty awesome news. A fellow writer is starting a new fic soon and Cassie was her inspiration for it. I'm just so blown away by that. Writerspassion18 is an amazing writer; I am currently reading her two WIPs, Anonymity and Unhinged and they are both crazy good. If you haven't checked out her work, you really should. She has posted her new fic, Happily Divorced (Dramione). Everyone should go read it, it's already amazing. It's almost like she was in my head when I envisioned Blaise and Hermione's divorce. Beta love to Blue of Avis1765. She is amazing.**

 **Thank you all again,**

 **Peace, Love, and Slyther,**

 **Gimi aka Jess**

Hermione and Draco went back to making their cake when the four children came running in to say hello. Hermione gave each child a hug and a kiss. Draco couldn't help but notice the way Scorpius lingered in the hug; his son was starved for motherly affection and Hermione seemed only too happy to oblige him. He gave her a smile and went to sit next to Owen who was eying the chocolate in a bowl with rapt attention.

The children were all sitting on stools at the island while Hermione and Draco were putting their cake in the oven when Blaise and Susan walked in. Leaving the cake for Mip to finish, Draco pulled out some dinner that the elf had made earlier that day. Moving all the kids to the table in the sitting area, the eight of them had a wonderful meal of roast chicken, potatoes and parsnips.

Hermione had been rambling about the dinner to happen tomorrow, while Draco just smiled at the scene he never thought he would be a part of. He had another realisation that he and his son were a part of a family. As Blaise and Susan teased Hermione about her constant need to plan and organise when it was pointless. As soon as the Weasleys showed up the next day, chaos would ensue and the plan would be out with the hippogriff dung.

He found himself putting his hand on Hermione's back and rubbing circles. He wanted to lean in and kiss her, actually he wanted to do a lot of things to her; probably not appropriate for the mixed company.

They had only been truly dating for a little over two weeks. Since he had been married at nineteen and had never truly 'dated' while at school he had no idea what the time frame was for physical relationships as an adult. Shagging at school didn't count, there was no dating, there was only a release of pent up hormones. Sometimes, he wasn't sure boarding schools were really all that helpful in terms of living outside of the walls of Hogwarts.

He had wished it would be as easy as it was for Blaise, he could sit there and hold Susan's hand, kiss her in front of the children and even his ex wife with little more than an "Eww!" and a smile from Hermione. Inwardly he groaned, he was starting to sound like a bleeding Hufflepuff, though he'd never say that outloud. Susan may have been sweet, but he knew better. She could hex him good if provoked.

Cassie had noticed the arm around her mother and wasn't sure how to feel about it. She didn't want her mum to get hurt, but she hadn't seen her so content and happy in a long time. Cassie had noticed over the past few weeks how much her mother smiled and Marco had told her about how Draco had come over when he was sick, played games and even brought him soup.

Cassie sat there, talking to her brothers about what they would do with the kids, a run through the garden maze, flying on brooms, wondering if they could convince a few adults to take them swimming in the indoor pool. Draco chuckled at how alike she was to her mother, taking charge of the children.

"Draco," Hermione's voice pulled him out of his reverie. He glanced over as she smiled at him, "Draco love, we will need to be up early to start the main dishes. Blaise and Cassie will make their pies tonight. Molly is making a roast as well as potatoes. Ginny is in charge of rolls and a little bit of everything has been given out to everyone."

She looked down at her list that magically appeared in front of her plate, "We are in charge of making the turkey and stuffing."

Scorpius looked up, "What do we do?"

Hermione looked over and smiled, "You can help Mip make biscuits. Peekey and Mip have been making them for days now. Marco and Owen can help too"

Scorpius nodded in agreement, "How do I do that?"

Blaise smiled at him, "Marco and Cassie will show you. It's fairly easy, just time consuming." Both children groaned. Hermione laughed, reminding her daughter it was she who still insisted on little to no magic or elves even with so many to cook for.

Cassie mumbled under her breath that it just wasn't the same and then rolled her eyes and continued to eat when the adults all laughed at her. Blaise smirked at his daughter and told her to suck it up and be more like Scorpius. Cassie looked scandalised as Scorpius smirked at her. Marco and Owen just sat there and laughed. They finished their dinner and made their battle plans for the next day because, as Hermione had said, with over forty people who were coming to the manor for dinner, it would be nothing less than a battle zone after they were done.

After dinner, Blaise, Susan and the children got the kitchen ready for their baking. Susan was in charge this year of making sure that Cassie and her father remembered all the ingredients as Draco had wanted to take Hermione on a tour of the garden. Hermione was beginning to argue, stating they still had plenty to do to get everything ready, but Blaise put his foot down and forbade her to come into the kitchens for the rest of the evening. He then winked at her and promptly pushed her out of the doors and warded them against her.

Hermione stared at the closed door with a look of shock on her face. Draco bit back a laugh as he knew that would not end well for him. He knew she hated not being in control of every aspect of her life and while Cassie and Blaise were the ones making the pies, he could tell she was always hovering over top to make sure it was to her satisfaction.

He grabbed her hand, "Tell me the truth," he said, pulling her towards himself and dropping a kiss on her jaw. Something he had been wanting to do for a very long time this evening. "How many times have you been warded out of your kitchen?"

Hermione sighed, closing her eyes and trembling slightly at the jolt of electricity that pulsed from her jaw and radiated out to her limbs, "More times than I'd care to remember," she chuckled as she brought her arms up around his neck.

Draco gave her a slow smile and moved forward. Hermione held her breath as he brought his lips down to hers, ghosting overtop as he said, "Come out to the garden Hermione, leave them to make a mess and let's take a walk."

Hermione's brain went fuzzy as his lips made full contact with hers, his hands went from holding her wrist to lightly holding her waist. "It'll be freezing Draco," she whispered, "It's getting late and it's November, it'll only be about 8 degrees outside."

She could feel his smile on her jaw as he was dropping little kisses down her face to her neck, his lips never leaving soft contact with her skin, "Mi, we're magical." He chuckled, "That's what warming charms are for." He moved her hair out of his way and pressed a kiss on the apex of her neck and shoulder, "Besides," he started moving his lips and looking at her with those sexy grey eyes of his, "We haven't actually had much alone time where we are just alone. Let Blaise and Susan deal with the kids and the mess. Let's go."

Hermione smiled and nodded. He was right after all, since they had started spending time together they haven't really had much time alone. She allowed him to pull her along next to himself and they walked up the corridor and out the side door leading to the conservatory. Hermione could see a separate greenhouse outside of the attached glass room filled with hanging plants and a sitting area. Draco, noticing her glance told her that was the vegetable greenhouse the elves maintained for the manor and his mother.

The conservatory was beautifully decorated, perfect for afternoon tea or snuggling down with a good book. The room was made up of light woods and windows, including the ceiling. In the center of the room, was a fireplace with a small table and chairs on one side and a sofa anchoring the other. A set of doors led out towards the path to a maze as Hermione could see and the vegetable garden and on the other side of the room was another set of doors that led to a sectioned off part of the conservatory.

"What is in there?" Hermione asked. Draco gestured for her to proceed her and she opened the door to a sunken tub. The room was smaller, a single lounge chair was situated off to the side of the windowed room. This room had views of the rolling hills beyond the manor; Hermione could see an open paddock in the distance next to a barn. A small quidditch pitch was just to the right of the barn as she could make out a set of three hoops and three more further down.

"It's a hot tub of course." Draco pointed next to another door; this time with solid walls, "The steam room and next to is a short walkway to the indoor pool."

Hermione turned to stare at him, "You have an INDOOR pool?" She didn't know why that was so incredible to her, her parents had a pool, but an indoor pool seemed more decadent.

Draco chuckled and nodded as she started running down the hall towards the pool. He supposed this meant the end to their night stroll through the garden. He walked into the pool as Hermione was transfiguring her clothes into a black bikini. Draco had seen her in skimpy clothing before; his brain always thanking Muggles for their small attire; but never in something that was basically bra and knickers. At least not at this age.

She was stunning; she wasn't like Astoria had been. He wasn't stupid, he knew his ex was beautiful, but Hermione; she had a beauty that radiated from the inside. Her skin was not flawless as some of the pureblood witches were known for. It was not uncommon for pureblood witches to have treatments done at spas for scar removals.

When he was a teenager, he had always thought that was proper. No wizard wanted to see an imperfect body. When he started dating Hermione and they began to sleep together; he had realised that her imperfections are what made her perfect. Each blemish was like an map to her courageous journey. She had a story for each one, good or bad, it had shaped her to be the person he treasured. He had decided then that he adored those little reminders and sometimes spent hours kissing those scars, showing them love.

Draco stared at her a little longer, something had looked off. There was something different. She was older, having birthed children; so her body was not as slim or toned as it had been when they were children, but that was not the difference that caught his eyes. He walked over to her and putting his hands on her wider hips, he looked her over. She was missing something and for a brief moment he thought he had been wrong about her, that she had it removed.

"What is it Draco," Her voice full of concern at the look of confusement, "What's wrong?"

"Where is it?" He asked, his hand fluttering to her middle, moving upwards towards her right breast, "Did you have it removed?"

"Wha-" Her eyes moved to his hand and finally realised what he meant. She grabbed his hand, "Oh, no. It disappeared when he died." She laid her hand on her stomach, splayed where the cursed mark use to be. The scar from Antonin Dolohov from her fifth year. "I woke up one day, six years ago and it was gone and I knew. I knew he had died in Azkaban."

Draco nodded his head, understanding now. Curses like the one Dolohov had inflicted on Hermione were not well known. They had never known if it would have been with her forever or fade. He looked her over again, having never known her body without it and noticed another blemish that was not there the last time he had seen her. A thin, faded line lay horizontal on her lower abdomen.

"What is this from?" Draco asked, tracing it.

Hermione looked at his finger and smiled, "That is a gift from our dear Cassie." Draco looked at her confused, she could see his mind working and she sighed, going to the lounge chair and sitting down. "Blaise and I had been in the city for less than five months and still figuring our way around when I went into labor. We didn't even think about going to wizarding hospital because I went into labor while in the underground. Blaise was furious that I talked him into taking that 'death trap' as it was completely packed with Muggles and I couldn't apparate being in labor; so we went to a Muggle hospital instead."

Draco's eyes grew incredibly big. While he no longer prejudice against Muggles, he was not familiar with their medical practices; he couldn't help the pictures that flew through his head.

Hermione laughed at his expression. "Don't look so surprised, Cassie was just fine. There is nothing wrong with Muggle hospitals."

Draco pointed at her scar, "What is this then?"

Hermione just shrugged, "She was a stubborn baby, she wasn't going into the correct position and her heart rate kept dropping because she was laying on her cord or something, cutting off blood supply during contractions so I had to have a cesarean section." Draco continued to look confused and Hermione smiled slightly. "The doctors had to cut me open and take her out. After she was born and we went home, my regular healer went in and healed the incision so I wouldn't have issues with my future children, but the scar stayed." She fingered the scarred tissue, "She had wanted to heal it completely, but I wouldn't hear of it. This is my reminder of my little Cassie. I'm rather fond of it."

Guilt once again plagued his heart, that she had to go through that, that he had no idea. He shook his head; he really had to stop doing that. There was nothing he could do to change the past, only look forward to the future. His future, their future- together. At least, that was his hope, to have a future with Hermione.

Looking into her brown eyes, he was at a loss for words. He knew it was quick, it had only been a few weeks since they had reconnected. But in reality; he had been in love with Hermione Granger since he was eighteen years old. As quick as their courtship was, it was very slow. While she had fallen in love with Blaise since they had been apart, he had only ever loved her.

Draco Malfoy was unsettled, the last few months had been a whirlwind of information. New developments and tomorrow he was was suppose to play nice with a gaggle of Weasleys, most who had never liked him or his family. This was never a situation he had ever expected to be in, not since he had put to bed the idea of marrying Hermione. His life had taken an odd turn for a Malfoy, but he couldn't put upon himself to care. He would suffer through the Dark Lord again, this time around, he was not going to lose Hermione.

Hermione smiled brightly at Draco; he didn't realise just how open his eyes were to her. He was normally a closed book to everyone except those who knew him best. Hermione could read him so clearly. She could see him work through his emotions and try and reign them in.

She brought her hand up to his face; feeling the blond stubble on his chin under her palm. He leaned his face in the palm of her soft hand, reaching up and holding it against his cheek; sweeping it forward, he kissed her palm and smiled back at her. He transfigured his clothes into a pair of swim trunks; holding her hand next to him, he walked down the steps of the pool with her and they began to swim under the clear glass of the room, under the stars and moon.

Hermione looked up towards the sky and smiled at the stars, "You know," she started as Draco stared at her with deep affection, "When Cassie was little, we would take the kids to the estate in upstate New York. Eliana loved it up there so she bought a home and we would go up to get away from the noise of the city. We'd take the kids outside and lay in the garden some nights and teach them the constellations. Blaise taught her early on to spot Draco and Cassiopeia." Hermione smiled at the memory, "When she got a bit older, she wouldn't want to find Draco because she thought it would make her Papa sad. Blaise sat her down and told her that finding it in the sky and holding on to it would make him the happiest Papa alive because no matter where she was or where you were, at least she would always have the stars. That you had been his best friend, his brother. He never wanted her to forget you."

Draco smiled a bit sadly at this, "You know, I love Blaise for what he has done, for loving Cassie, for making her his own." He stared at Hermione, "For being there for you when I wish it was me, but sometimes I can't help to hate it."

Hermione nodded and swam up behind him, wrapping her legs around his waist, "I know Draco, it was times like that; when he insisted on her learning more about you that I would sometimes hate it too. It was just a reminder of not so great times for me and for a while I would get upset over it. There were times where I thought it would just cause us all pain, but Blaise would sit me down too and remind me that our time together was not all bad. That I had loved you as much as I loved him and that Cassie should know about it all."

Draco chuckled, holding her hands while she planted kisses on his neck. With eyes closed he let out a small moan, "Sometimes I swear, Blaise should have been a Hufflepuff."

Hermione smiled and kept laying kisses on his neck and shoulders, tracing her tongue down his wet muscles, "Only when it comes to the people he loves."

She wasn't sure what she was doing, she had shared that story with him and knowing it might upset him, she had wanted to comfort him. That had turned into something more; the heat from his skin was warming her own. She maneuvered herself to his front, legs still wrapped around his hips; the water around them like a warm blanket.

Draco's mouth found the base of her throat and he could feel her neck tremble as she moaned. Putting his hands on her hips, he began to move her against him. His body already responding to hers. He continued to lick and suck on her neck, smiling into her as she moaned and grinded against his length that was already rock hard within his trunks.

Reaching behind her, Draco untied her black top at her neck and swam them to the side. Pushing her up against the wall, he began to attack her right breast. Hermione smiled as she ran her hand through his wet hair, remembering how much he would worship that breast because of her scar.

Her brain was foggy, she knew this was not the best idea. Blaise, Susan and the children were all in the kitchen and there they were acting like teenagers again. She knew she should say something, but his lips on her nipple was clouding her brain. Her skin was on fire under his touch and his touch was traveling south. His hand had just reached it's destination when a shimmering bear came running in through the wall.

Blaise's voice echoed off the glass, "Mi, the kids are ready to show you their creations and head to bed. We have a long day tomorrow; Draco, get off my ex-wife, you can pounce her later."

Hermione groaned laying her head on Draco's shoulder, she could almost hear the smirk that she knew was on his lips. Raising her head, she gave him a tight smile, "Blaise Zabini, number one cockblock."

Draco smirked, in one smooth motion, he moved her bottoms to one side and slid two fingers into her wet heat, "I don't know what you mean," She gasped as he found her clit and began to circle it with his thumb as he plunged his fingers deep inside her; keeping a steady rhythm. His mouth went back to her breast, this time taking time to reacquaint himself with her left.

Hermione was lost in the sensation Draco was assaulting her body with. She could feel her legs begin to shake from his ministrations. It had been a while since she was last touched in such a fashion by anyone other than Blaise, ever since her divorce and she knew she wasn't going to last much longer. Draco sucked hard on her, feeling her thighs beginning to tighten around him as she gyrated her hips so he would hit just the right spot. Remembering something from their youth, he bit down gently on her nipple then flattened his tongue against it to curl it around the harden peak.

Hermione moaned loudly as her orgasm hit her and Draco stopped rubbing above her clit, but kept pushing his fingers inside of her, riding the wave of her lust until she was sated. Her breathing came out in pants and once she could feel her toes again, he removed his hand and his mouth and smiled knowingly at her.

Hermione grinned back, took his hand that had been used to pleasure her so satisfyingly and licked him clean, taking his fingers deep in her mouth and using her tongue in a suggestive manner. Draco groaned and was about to kiss her again when the blasted bear came back and Blaise's voice boomed out; sounding, if possible, even more smug.

Hermione narrowed her eyes and filed away a thought to hex her ex within an inch of his life before kissing Draco one last time and getting out of the pool. Changing their clothes back to their original state, they made their way back to the kitchen to see the children's progress with the biscuits and to wipe that blasted smile off of Blaise's face.


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Okay, I know it's been longer than my normal time to update. I was out of town last weekend, it was the final week of my class I just start a class that I am not exactly thrilled about so my writing has taken a bit of a back burner until I get this class settled. I haven't gotten this beta'd yet because I am excited to upload for everyone. Anyways, I haven't dedicated my chapters lately to anyone, but this one goes out to GidgetMalfoy for reasons known only to her :D She is also going to be my beta on a new story that I am thinking up but won't be posting for a while. Once this is beta'd I will repost so if you want to comment something about commas and grammar, I welcome you to it, but it will go unnoticed as this is a rough copy for your enjoyment.**

 **Peace, Love and Slyther,**

 **Gimi aka Jess**

Blaise did have a knowing look on his face as he could tell something had happened- especially when Hermione walked into the kitchen to see the progress the children had made with biscuits and how the pies turned out. Blaise smirked and she sent a stinging hex at him. The smirking stopped as he rubbed his left shoulder. Draco's on the other hand, grew into a full grin as he stole a biscuit from the pile on a plate; eliciting a roar of disapproval from all four children.

Draco chuckled, they left the rest of the clean up to Mip and Peekey as well as the small task of taking the pies out of the oven to cool and store when Draco showed everyone to their rooms. All the children were set to stay in Scorpius' wing of the Manor. Owen and Marco had separate rooms but seeing as the younger of the two was a bit apprehensive about staying on his own in a such a big home, Marco offered to share his room with him and Draco transfigured a second bed in Marco's room. The boys were happy and began to play while Draco showed Cassie her room.

"Now, my mother was in charge of getting your room fixed for you," Draco started as he opened the door. Cassie gasped at the large room; she walked in and began to inspect every portion of it. The walls were a light shade of grey; almost the same shade as her eyes, the furniture were all white and vintage looking with a large ornate mirror with scroll detail on the frame. Large silver butterflies adorned the walls and looking closely, Cassie could see that butterfly drawer pulls on all the furniture. The bed had a fabric headboard in a shade darker than the walls with a white duvet. A small chandelier hung from the ceiling with enchanted candles in place, throwing light reflected from the crystals dripping off of it, in every direction causing the walls to shine and dance with candlelight. A white rug covered the light wood of the floor.

Hermione smiled, Narcissa had taken such care to craft a beautiful and feminine room without going overboard. Having only Draco as a child, she could tell that the woman had been dying for a girl to cherish and had taken to shopping for her newly acquired granddaughter. She must have talked to Eliana or else talked to Cassie herself, finding out that Cassie loved butterflies. There was nothing lovelier than butterflies in flight, her daughter would say every year.

Cassie walked into her bathroom and a loud squeal came bouncing off the walls. Blaise chuckled and walked in after his daughter. The bathroom was just as exquisite as the bedroom. A clawfoot tub was in the center of the room, with white wispy curtains surrounding it, pulled back in ties. A scrolled white vanity was anchoring a wall while the sink and counter were against the one opposite. A plush white chair sat in front of the vanity as well as an ottoman atop a white plush rug.

"Papa, can I live in here?" Cassie ran and hugged her father. Looking around him, she spied Draco looking pleased with her reaction. Letting go of her dad, she ran to him and hugged him around the waist, "I love it. Thank you so much, it's perfect."

Draco felt his heart tighten with happiness and he gave her a squeeze around the shoulders, "I am very glad, you must remember to thank… uh… your… uh... grandmother?" Draco faltered a little, not remembering what he should call his mother with Cassie. Cassie just smiled and nodded her head in agreement.

Hermione smiled at the tender moment that was just portrayed. Scorpius and Cassie had walked over to her bed and began to jump on it like they were five, but with one stern look from Susan, they both sank to their knees and giggled. The children went next door into Scorpius' room after yelling for the others to join them in there. Draco and Hermione walked into the kids sitting on the floor; pulling out a chess board and beginning to set it up. Letting the children know they were to be in bed soon. Nodding in agreement, they went back into the hall where Blaise and Susan were waiting. Draco informed Blaise that his room was still the same; giving his ex a kiss on the cheek, even after she had injured his arm and bade them both good night. Susan gave her friend a hug and kiss and followed after her boyfriend.

"So where am I sleeping?" Hermione inquired, suddenly shy. Her mind wandered back to the pool. She wouldn't mind a repeat, but now, with the rest of the family; it probably wasn't the best idea. Draco, knowing how his witch's mind worked just chuckled and grabbed her hand. He led her to her suite.

"Draco, is this for me?" Hermione gasped as he opened the door. His mother; knowing he would want Hermione to be at ease as was possible in the manor; had designed this room to be light and comfortable. It was directly across from the master suite, once known as the lady's suite. The whole room was bathed in rich tapestries and cream furniture. A plushy sofa and chairs sat in the middle of the room, with the giant bed surrounded in thick drapes to cut off the light of the morning if she needed them to. Like in Cassie's room, a chandelier with enchanted candles lit the room in dancing light. "It's beautiful, but this is too much."

Draco stood behind her, rubbing her shoulders; sending shivers down her spine. He moved her hair out of his way and left a kiss on the apex of her neck and shoulder. "Hermione, it's fine. It's not like you won't be here. I highly doubt Cassie is ready to spend any time here alone with just myself and Scorpius." He continued to drop kisses on the back of her neck, moving her wild hair as he went. "It's not like you're the only one. Blaise has always had a room here and Marco's is his for as long as he'd like. Even Owen's will be his as well. The Manor has plenty of space."

Moving to the front of her, he left his hands on her hips and pulled her close for one last kiss. He already knew nothing more was happening that night, he could see her mind running with the things that had to be done early in the morning for dinner that next afternoon.

Hermione smiled and pulled away, laying her head on his, "One day, we will actually be able to spend some time together; without family; and finish what we started in the pool."

Draco smirked, "I hope so," he teased, "I've waited over twelve years to be with you again, I can wait a few more days." Hermione had heard the emphasis on days and she went in for a last sweet kiss. It had been a long time for her and their reunion shouldn't happen with so many family members lurking about and a massive dinner to host.

With that final kiss, Draco left Hermione to herself for the rest of the evening and retired to his own room across the hall. Every step he took, he was pushing himself to go further instead of turning back around, throwing her down on her plush bed and fucking her til sun up. Shaking those thoughts out of his head, he began to prepare himself for the next day. It seemed that Hermione and Blaise were big on family and with the Weasleys, they certainly were not lacking.

He was a bit surprised that Blaise had integrated so nicely with the red haired family so easily. When they were kids, they would make fun of the large family, but these days he seemed very much at home with friends such as The Weasleys or The Potters. He assume that must have been a Hermione thing. If you love her, you must love her family and they were her family. He thought back to Halloween; he could see them making a conscious effort to be friendlier to him and he had done the same. That curly haired Gryffindor really was a miracle worker… no… truth was, all the men in her life loved her without reservation, even her ex-husband; loved her so much that childhood enemies would put aside their differences and become civil, maybe one day friends.

Draco sighed and shook his head, he knew he would go to any lengths to make Hermione happy. He knew this fact thirteen years ago and he knew it today. Hermione Granger was his happy ending. He would do anything for her and their children… even… have dinner with a family who once hated him. If that wasn't love, he didn't know what was.

 **OoOoOoO**

All too soon, Draco's wand went off, waking him up. Groggily he reached for it and waved his hand to silence it. Dropping his hand, he was just about to fall back to sleep when Mip popped into his room.

"Masser, Missy Mini says getz up" Mip whispered, Draco looked down at his little elf and saw her shoulders were rounded and eyes downcasted to the ground. "Missy says if Masser is nots up, Iz to zap you, but Iz cannot Masser, Iz CANNOT! Iz told Missy Iz can'tz and she says itz okay, but then told Peekey to do it Masser." Draco chuckled at the look of incredulity on his little elf, "Peekey says she do it Masser, so please getz up before Peekey come!"

Draco laughed and sat up, Hermione must be stressed if she wanted an elf to inflict stings. "Tell Missy Mini I'll be right there."

Mip nodded, obviously glad she didn't have to war with herself. Mip was a free elf, she didn't have to take orders from anyone, but Peekey seemed okay to do it and no one was going to hurt her master. She only came up to save her master from being hexed from the other elf. She popped out of the room to relay the message to the madwoman in the kitchen.

Draco got up and got ready for his morning, knowing that Hermione would come up and start hexing him herself if he took much longer. Grabbing his wand from the nightstand, he walked out of his room and headed down to the kitchens. The sun was barely rising through the windows, Hermione had said, they needed to get up very early to get the food in the ovens if they wanted it ready for dinner.

Walking into the kitchen, he was his witch levitating two giant turkeys in pans over to the ovens.

Knives were chopping celery and onions, getting it ready for whatever Hermione was planning to do with it. He could see the cakes they had made the day before under a stasis charm the elves had placed. Draco had insisted on making three different flavors; they made a vanilla butter cake with a caramel cream and covered in a vanilla icing, a chocolate cake with hazelnut filling and chocolate buttercream and a white cake with lemon curd and white chocolate buttercream. Hermione was very impressed that he knew how to bake so well. Mip had taught him well, but of course, she had done the icing and decorating because as much as he could bake, the decorative stuff was not his style; they did taste good though, that was all that mattered.

"I thought there was to be no magic," Draco teased. Hermione glanced up as she closed the door of the oven and waved her wand to stroke the fire to burn at a certain temperature; also setting an alarm to know when to check on her turkeys.

Hermione rolled her eyes, "We have forty people coming today, I think we'll have to break Cassie's rule. I would like food to be ready by the time they begin arriving."

Draco laughed, "Did you tell my elf that you were going to have Peekey come and hex me?"

Hermione giggled, "Yeah, she wouldn't go up to wake you because it's early and so I told Peekey to do it. Peekey usually hexed Blaise to get up if he wasn't up when she came in."

"Your elf hexes Blaise?" Draco chuckled at the thought of the sassy elf; he went over and kissed her on the cheek. She had moved back to the island where the knives were chopping and putting the food into bowls and under a stasis charm to be cooked later that morning. All the while, She had waved her wand at the cooling cabinet; bacon, eggs, bread, and milk came flying out and settled on the counter next to her. Then she was able to summon cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla; she began making breakfast.

Draco smiled at the domestic scene, realising that she must make breakfast a lot for the family. Their house elf, Peekey, was a shared elf between the Zabini family, spending most of her time with Eliana as the woman was in need of more help than Blaise and Hermione. Peekey only came to help during the weekends when Eliana was off visiting friends. He had never really made breakfast, Mip would usually have a crying fit if he tried to take over some of her duties, but since there was so much to be done with the rest of the house to get ready for the guests, she was too busy to cry. Mip enjoyed cooking, only allowing Draco to learn little bits so she wouldn't have to leave him.

Draco pointed his wand at the ceiling and fast beat music began to play. He had remembered in school, when Hermione would be making tea in her dorm, she always had muggle music playing from her muggle wireless. He had missed watching her dance around that little space. She must still do it, even now, she had started swaying her hips and singing along to the song by Celestina Warbeck that was playing.

After mixing the batter and starting the cooking. Cassie, Scorpius, Marco and Owen came running in at top speed yelling hooray for eggy bread and bacon. Cassie and Marco both began to move plates to the table, while Scorpius and Owen went searching for maple syrup, icing sugar, jam and silverware right behind them. Draco was in awe at the way Scorpius just jumped right in with helping the other children. He remembered as a child, he barely remembered to put his napkin in his lap, let alone help with setting the table. That was clearly servant's work; Scorpius was learning quickly what it was like to be a part of a big family.

The children had finished setting the table and were about to sit and serve themselves; Cassie and Scorpius helping the younger two; when Blaise and Susan came in. With a boisterous 'Good Morning!' they all sat down to eat before their long day ahead.

 **OoOoOoO**

The throng of Weasleys began arriving right after lunch, Draco had not remembered ever having this much noise within the halls of Malfoy Manor his entire life. There were less than twenty children, but the noise they produced, it reminded him of being in school, in the Great Hall for meals. Cassie and Scorpius were running around with the other Weasleys that were in school with. Draco was surprised that not all the Weasley children that were in school were in Gryffindor; George and Angelina's daughter Roxy was in Slytherin with Scorpius. Bill and Fleur's daughter, Dominique was a Ravenclaw. Of course, Ron and Harry's children were all Gryffindors, but Cassie whispered to Draco and Blaise that Al was almost sorted into Slytherin, but he begged the hat to put him with his twin James.

Ron and Harry were both a bit apprehensive stepping out of the floo at first, but then realising all the work the Malfoy family had done to change it since the war. Seeing how at ease Hermione was as she was setting out snacks in the formal dining room with Blaise and Draco and her boys were already feeling better.

Narcissa and Eliana both came through and their grandchildren came running up for hugs. The children hadn't seen their grandmothers in quite a few months. The hug and tears little Cassie gave her Nona was exactly why she had wanted this dinner. She had missed her Nona so very much.

Eliana had been very close with her grandchildren, seeing them every few days in the past. Not seeing Cassie for months had taken a toll on her. It was a bit odd that she missed the little girl so much, being a pureblood mother. Blaise was often away growing up and she never thought much about it, but with Cassie everything had changed. Hermione had changed all of it; she insisted on including Eliana and her parents in the raising of their children. Cassie and Marco would send their grandparents little trinkets they had made, letters and begged to come visit more times than she could think possible.

Narcissa had also missed her grandchildren, hugging them extra long. Cassie had introduced her to her other grandparents and reintroduced her to Molly and Arthur Weasley.

Molly had given the blonde a warm smile. Molly Weasley was not one to be anything but kind to everyone unless otherwise given reasons not to be. She had known for years that the Malfoy family had been forced to change their ways after the war. Draco and his partner Theo Nott were big benefactors in several charities and Narcissa had warmed considerably after her husband's incarnation and subsequent death. Hermione and Blaise have both commented about how welcoming they have been to Cassie; even her own children have mentioned about how Draco has looked at Cassie with love and how you could tell that he was deeply in love with Hermione.

Cassie was the glue that held everyone together in the end. That little girl had no idea how much of a saving grace she was. The boys had been furious Hermione had went off and married Blaise right after they left school, even more upset when she had turned up pregnant and then again when they moved to the states later that summer. Molly had also been upset, she had hoped for a Weasley wedding for Hermione; if not with Ron, then Charlie. The dragon of her family had always fancied his brother's friend. But none of this was in the cards.

After Hermione had Cassie, Molly and Arthur took a trip out to see her and the baby. Not thinking twice over this because no matter what, Hermione was family. After seeing the light, almost white blonde hair, Molly understood then why she had chosen Blaise. She had threatened her children upon penalty of starvation that they were to go visit their friend and apologise for their ill behaviour. That first trip and the trio were back together along with their chosen spouses. Molly loved Blaise like one of her own; knowing he loved Cassie like she was his.

Ron and Harry had gone to the Grangers home to go and apparate them to the grounds. Draco had lifted the wards to allow the two of them to apparate to inside of the gate of the manor since their home was not connected to the Malfoy floo. Cassie and Marco went running out to greet their grandparents, also getting an introduction to Narcissa. Jean and Graham Granger both shook her hand; Narcissa pulled them both in for a hug, offering apologies for her family not being their for their daughter when she needed them. Jean and Graham both warmed to her then; Hermione had told them the Malfoys circumstances as well.

Finally Landon and Luna both arrived by portkey out in the garden. Hermione had sent Draco out to greet them with Blaise; finding them wandering the roses, Blaise walked with them back up to the manor and Draco took a moment to breathe. He was not use to the noise that the Weasleys and Zabinis were clearly use to.

He began to meander through the garden when he happened across Cassie laying on the ground. Standing over the little girl, she looked like she was sleeping. Cassie brought an arm up and looked above her with a smile, "You caught me."

"What are you doing out here all alone Cassie?" He asked with a grin; taking a seat next to her.

Cassie sat up, tucking her legs under one another, she shrugged. "I love my family, but they can be a bit overwhelming." She reasoned, "I just needed a few moments of peace."

Draco chuckled as that was exactly what he had needed as well, "Isn't this what you wanted? I giant family get together?"

Cassie nodded her head enthusiastically, "Of course. I love it, but it doesn't mean my head doesn't start pounding as soon as they all start talking at once." She looked over at her birth father, realising they were absolutely alone for the first time. "What about you? Why are you out here and not with Mum?"

Draco laughed again, "Well your mum is in the kitchens still, putting the finishing touches on her turkeys and your grandmothers, all four of them have forbidden me from entering as I will surely light the manor on fire." Cassie began to giggle, that sounded like her Grandma Molly. "So I came out with your father to find Landon and Luna. Before I headed back into the den of noise, I decided I needed to regroup." He looked over at her, into her grey eyes and smiled, "I'm glad I did, I get a few spare moments with the little girl who inspired the chaos, a moment to thank her for bringing it into mine and my son's lives."

Cassie's smile faded and she gulped, "I'm sorry, I didn't… I mean, I just wanted to get to kn-" Tears began to well in those same grey eyes, threatening to fall as she began to breathe deeper to keep them at bay.

Draco, seeing this, grabbed her hands, "No Cassie, I did not mean this in a bad way. I truly want to thank you."

Cassie couldn't help it, the tears began to fall, "What? Why?"

Draco sighed and brought her into his lap and began to stroke her hair, "Oh my sweet Cassie, my little girl. I am thanking you because you have brought so much joy into my life already." Cassie began to sob into his shirt. He began to stroke her curls, "You don't understand how much you've come to mean to me in such a short time. Scorpius is happier than I've ever seen him and it's all because of you."

"You aren't ma...maddd?" Cassie whispered, still sobbing, her breathing shallow, she had laid her head against his chest, her eyes closed and letting the comfort of his hand over her curls.

Draco smiled and dropped a small kiss on her head, he realised that today was a day of many firsts for him as a father. "No Love, I'm not upset with you at all. You have brought us into your family, even getting the Weasleys to come to Malfoy Manor. A feat that only a Granger could have done. I am so proud of you, so proud to be a part of your life in any way you want me to be. I am not mad, you have brought me much more than I could have ever imagined. I don't know what I did to deserve you in my life."

"Papa always said you would love me," Cassie whispered, "He said you would have thought I was the prettiest girl in the world because I looked like you but I act like mum too."

Draco smiled into her hair again, "I do love you, I think you are the most beautiful little girl in the world, but not because you look like me or act like your mum." Cassie looked up at him expectantly, "But because you have been able to forgive me for not being there for you, for you treating Scorpius like a brother, for writing to your grandmother. For letting us into your already perfect little life."

Cassie shook her head, "I am stubborn, I argue with everyone and I have a temper as fierce as mum's. I have always been angry that you didn't want me, deep down, I always felt rejected, but Papa always told me I was wrong. He didn't know what happened between mum and you, but he always said you would have loved me. I never believed him." Silent tears fell again, down her already tear stained face. "I thought you couldn't love me because of mum." With that she turned and hugged him tight, crying again into his chest and whimpering how she was sorry she didn't believe.

Draco didn't know what else to do but stroke her hair, tell her it was okay and that he did love her. For what seemed like an hour he rocked his little girl like there was no one else in the world there but her. Father and daughter and it felt nice to have a true moment together.

"WHAT IN BLOODY HELL DID YOU DO TO OUR CASSIE?!"


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: I know, Cassie is really, really late. I've got no excuse but I'm human and I have another story that has taken my attention. This has not been beta'd yet, as always I suck at waiting. Love you all. Just a filler for now.**

 **Peace, Love, and Slyther**

 **Gimi aka Jess**

Draco looked up to see Scorpius landing in the gardens along with Harry and Ron. Harry and Ron both had looks of anger and concern on their faces, while Scorpius just looks angry.

"Cassie, why are you crying?" Scorpius asked his sister, he looked at his father and glared, "What did you do to her?"

Draco, shocked at his son. "Nothing,we were talking." Somewhere in the back of his mind he knew he didn't have to answer his eleven year old son's demands, but as Scorpius was always such a well behaved young man; he didn't think twice about just answering.

"Cass," Ron knelt down to his niece, "Are you okay? Do I have to punch Malfoy?" He looked up at Draco and grinned, "Cus I will do that just for you." Harry started laughing and even Cassie giggled a little.

Cassie wiped her face clean of tears with her hands and shook her head. "I'm fine Uncle Ron, Draco and I were just talking."

Ron nodded and told Cassie and Scorpius to go in now, dinner should be ready soon. The children both walked up to the house, Scorpius with a concerned arm around her shoulder.

Harry and Ron stood outside with Draco for a moment longer, not wanting to go into detail over what happened. Though curious over the conversation, they had both grown up and knew it wasn't their place. Harry and Ron both nodded at Draco and took off to find the other children, leaving Draco on his own in the garden. Sitting on the bench, he thought about what just happened; his son, his pureblood, well mannered boy just yelled at his father in defence of the sister he just met three months previously.

Narcissa came walking out of the manor and went to sit with her son in the garden. "Cassie came in with tear tracks down her face." She said aloud to no one in particular, "That American fellow was quite upset with you for making her cry, but She stomped on his foot and told him off in very unladylike language." Draco began to laugh at the thought and Narcissa chuckled a little staring down at her hands. "It is surreal in there with all of these people. They are so unlike our own family, I wonder if your father and I raised you inadequately."

Draco stopped laughing and looked at his mother, she had a far off look in her eye; he could see a bit of regret in those blue/grey irises. "What are you going on about mother?"

"Draco, Cassie is a happy little girl, the Wealseys all treat her like she is one of their own, even Eliana is far more affectionate with her grandchildren than she ever was with Blaise," Narcissa looked over at her roses, "I just wonder what life would have been like for you, if we openly showed you affection and not just formal with you. I see how you are with Scorpius and I'm so proud of what a loving father you are with him. Now I see how he is with Cassie and I wonder, how did he get so lucky. He has learned how to be so loving and is starting to show affection and concern and unfortunately that is not how you were raised. I am glad he is learning to be a more affectionate Malfoy."

Hermione walked out of the manor, Draco and Narcissa watched her walk over with a big smile on her face. Draco automatically lit up as she drew closer, "I like to see that on your face," Narcissa thought out loud. Draco looked over at his mother for an explanation. She smiled at her son, "That look of complete happiness. I see now, she is good for you, better than Astoria ever was."

Draco nodded, turning back to Hermione, "Yes, I am very lucky she is so forgiving. I don't deserve her, but I can't ever be upset that I married Astoria, simply because I would never replace Scor. I would do it all over again to get Scor, he is worth a million lifetimes with that bint."

He and Narcissa both stood up as Hermione came up to them. She walked right into his arms and gave him a squeeze. "Dinner is ready. Molly has officially taken over like the brilliant woman that she is and the elves are preparing the platters upon platters of food."

Draco laughed, Hermione didn't know, but he had a surprise for his witch that he wasn't sure she would appreciate, but he survived Voldy living in his home, he liked to live a little dangerously. Narcissa smiled at the happy couple and began to walk up to the house and left her son and Hermione standing in the garden, giving them a quiet moment before walking into the house of chaos.

Draco watched his mother leave the garden and kids on brooms fly in towards the house, running for the doors. Hermione laughed as Ron was tripped by one of his nephews as they all ran for dinner. Draco, watching her face light up with happiness as all the kids ran in; Ron chasing his nephew felt a wave of emotion he was sure he would never get tired of feeling.

"Hermione, I love you."

Hermione stopped laughing and turned back to Draco, not sure she heard him correctly. Her tongue seem to have been instantly made of sawdust, not having the ability to talk she just stared at him apprehensively. She knew he loved her, she could see it in his eyes every time they were together, but to hear the words, words she hadn't heard him say to her in thirteen years. That was almost terrifying to her; that he would take it back.

Draco stood there, a bit scared himself. Hermione had not answered him, she stood there, looking a bit like a scared firsty in front of Snape. He moved his weight back and forth between his legs, feeling like he had made a mistake. They had only been formally dating for a few months, of course she didn't love him back. What was he thinking?! He dropped her hand and began to walk back to the manor, trying to swallow the disappointment rising in his throat already thinking of a few different ways he could run away from a feast he was throwing…

"Draco…" Hermione called out, running after him, "Wait. I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting that."

"It's fine, I don't expect anything from you," He called out over his shoulder, I don't deserve you anyways. I'm such an idiot, why did I say that? His brain would not shut up, "We'd better get up to the house, you said dinner wa-"

Hermione grabbed his hand, pulled him back and kissed him hard, conveniently shutting him up from whatever he was saying, what he was thinking.

At first he didn't respond; Hermione could feel the tears trying to find their way through her eyes as she thought he was going to reject her as he had years ago. Then she felt his lips relax, his hands grasping at her hips, bringing her even closer into his body. She molded small frame into his larger one, reaching up and cupping his chilled cheeks; the sun was setting, the sky filled with blue, orange, reds and indigo. The garden was lit with charmed lanterns and a golden glow was surrounding them.

She kept kissing him, she needed to convey her feelings… her love… her need for this man. She had been surprised by his proclamation. She knew she loved him, but she wasn't sure when to tell him. She hadn't meant to keep him waiting, to let him feel vulnerable, even for that little amount of time. She had known she loved him since the first day they had told the children about Draco. The look of adoration he gave Cassie, the care he gave her, the acknowledgment that Blaise was her father. Those are things she treasured about Draco and that just made her love him more. Those were not the actions of the boy she had once known; while she had loved that boy, she loved this man even more.

She pulled away from him, panting slightly, "I love you too," she said after catching her breath a bit. "You took me by surprise, but don't think that I didn't feel the same way."

Draco exhaled the breath he didn't know he was holding, "You do?"

Hermione grinned up at him, "I do. I have never stopped loving you, not really. You have always held a piece of my heart."

"You've always had all of mine."

Hermione's heart was beating so hard, she was sure Draco could hear it in her chest. She brought her hand down and entwined it with his, "Let's go," she said, pulling him along, "If we wait any longer, there will be no food left. It doesn't last long in this family."

Draco chuckled and allowed himself to be tugged up to the manor. She loved him, he then realised that he felt lighter. A tiny part of him thought she could never love him; she would let him in enough to get to know Cassie, but never love him. Not again, but she did… before they walked the rest of the way, he went in for another kiss, "I love you Hermione Zabini."

Hermione laughed, "I love you too," She pulled on him again, "Let's go, Ron will eat it all if we don't hurry."

The two of them were the last to the table, the children were all sitting at a table off to the side, elves were serving the food all wearing something peculiar on their little uniforms. Hermione scrunched her nose trying to see what it was. She had noticed that her ex was pointedly not looking at her, but she could see the side of a giant smile on his face; Ron and Harry were also very interested in their forks, but George… beloved George was sporting the same peculiar badge on his shirt. His was shining bright pink.

Catching Hermione's eye, George grinned broadly, "Oi! Mione, Would you like to buy a badge? That'll be seven sickles, that buys a badge, eleven sickles and you can be president of our little club." He tossed her a badge and Draco chuckled behind her as she caught it. In bright pink letters she read:

Revamp Society for the Protection of Elfish Welfare

"Push the badge!" George shouted as he laughed.

Save the poor elves from Enslavement

President: Hermione Granger

"Where in the world did you get this?" Hermione exclaimed.

Blaise started laughing and Hermione held her wand up, pointing at her ex. Blaise chuckled again with his hands up, "You have the wrong Slytherin Love," He said with a smirk, eyes directed behind her where Draco was slowly walking away. He had forgotten about the badges he had made as a joke, "The other one was always good with badges."

Hermione turned just as Draco was backing out of the room, a huge smile on his face. He silently told her "I love you." She turned to see all the elves were wearing the badges pinned to their clothes.

"Draco Malfoy," Hermione said with narrowed eyes, "You are incorrigible."

Draco laughed, "Well what did you expect? Miss Elfish rights has an elf. I remember you annoying the whole of the school with those SPEW badges in our fifth year."

"Peekey is a free elf!" Hermione argued as the adults all chuckled. She groaned and sent a stinging hex at Draco who yelped.

"Is that any way for a mother to act in front of her children and family?" Ginny and Susan both sent a hex at Draco, which he dodged and when Blaise laughed, Susan sent one to him as well.

"Ow! Woman, you've been spending too much time with my lovely ex-wife," Blaise grumbled. Rubbing his arm where her hex hit him.

"Aww, you poor Slytherin," Susan cooed at her boyfriend, causing Hermione to laugh.

"I thought Hufflepuffs were suppose to be nice," Blaise said to Susan and she just smirked.

"That's what's wrong with you snakes and lions, you all think you're the only ones who can inflict damage without remorse. Badgers are just as mean, we just chose to be nice, so when we strike, you don't know what hits you."

Blaise smirked at his girlfriend, "I always knew there was a reason I love you."

Harry groaned, "There are children present and the rest of us would like to eat."

Ginny laughed and everyone sat down. Draco took this moment to give Hermione a kiss as an apology to which Ron and all the kids mimed throwing up. Hermione threw a hex at him and everyone laughed as he sprouted antlers.

"Are family get togethers always like this," Scorpius asked his sister.

Cassie looked around and smiled, "Yeah, they really are. You get used to it."

With that Scorpius grinned, yeah, he could get use to this. He watched as Lavender refused to help her husband; Bill and Charlie, who had floo'd in from Romania, started levitating anything round to their brother's new addition at the guffaw of everyone but the grandmothers.

Cassie watched as her Draco gave her mum another kiss, she was torn about the smile her mum gave him. She supposed it was normal for kids to want their parents to work out, even after divorce; but in her situation, there was no winning. She guessed it was good that her dad was so happy with Susan. All three of her parents could be happy, but it did make her wonder, what will happen now.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: I know, it's been FOREVER since I've updated Cassie, but I do have a great excuse for you. School, as painful as it is, comes first. Since I hated this class, it was harder than I thought it would be to do my assignments the last few weeks. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. Whether you celebrate Thanksgiving or just thankful for family and food, mine was okay. I got to go to Hollywood to WWoHP, which was a great reason to be thankful. Anyways. This is a short chapter and I haven't even read it all the way through, but I hope you love it as much as I do. Family time really is the best time don't you think? It has not been beta'd yet, as we all know, my waiting skills is the worst. But enjoy anyways :D**

 **Peace, Love and Slyther,**

 **Gimi aka Jess**

After the feast to end all feasts, Draco led the Weasleys, Potters and Zabini family members into the sitting room where the children all piled in and sat on the floor. Blaise smirked as Draco looked on a bit puzzled. Shaking his head, Blaise motioned for his friend to sit down as Ron, Harry and Hermione all stood at the front of the audience. The adults all filtered in and sat in various spots around the room with knowing smiles as well. Evidently, this was a normal occurrence during family get togethers.

"Okay, what story do you want to hear first?" Ron asked his nieces and nephews. Hermione smiled as choruses of "Dragon!" "Chessboard!" "Devil's Snare!" "The man with two faces!" "Viktor Krum!" came ringing out in loud booms.

Blaise leaned over to Draco and whispered, "The kids all love hearing the misadventures of the Golden Trio from when we were at school." he chuckled, "Needless to say, we Slytherins don't always come out smelling like roses from the eyes of these lions, but it's more in fun these days."

"I wanna hear about third year!" Cassie yelled out. Blaise, Ron and Harry all laughed, knowing exactly what she wanted to hear about, "I want Buckbeak!"

Hermione chuckled as Draco groaned, having a feeling what story from third year Cassie was talking about. "I say we skip that one," he suggested to a round of _Boo!_

Hermione smirked at her love, "Sorry Draco, the crowd has spoken." Harry and Ron both sat on the floor, pulling the youngest children into their laps as Hermione walked over and pulled Draco to the front of the room.

"This isn't fair," Draco argued, "I don't have any good stories about school and you three. You're going to make me look bad."

"You do that on your own," Ron snickered, "You were a grade A prat in school Malfoy."

"I don't need my son to know that Weasley," Draco retorted with no real heat behind his words, the urge to stick his tongue out like a first year was almost overwhelming.

"Yes, well now you are here, you can defend your actions." Hermione reasoned, though she knew he really had no defense. "Now, third year. That was the year that Hagrid began to teach Care of Magical Creatures."

Draco and Blaise both scoffed, Hermione narrowed her eyes at her ex, Blaise shrugged, "I learned nothing from Hagrid except not to work with magical creatures."

"You Slytherins never gave him a chance," Harry shot at Blaise.

"Anyways," Hermione continued before Blaise could respond. "This was the year that Hagrid began to teach and while I love Hagrid, IagreewithBlaise," Hermione bit out that last part fast. Blaise started laughing and Harry threw Hermione a dirty look. She just smiled and shrugged her shoulders. "He brought in great creatures but he always misjudged the danger level. Must I remind you of Norbert."

Charlie began to laugh at that one, remembering the baby dragon his friends had to rescue from the eleven year olds. Harry looked like he wanted to continue to argue, but Ron lifted his pant leg to show the scar from the dragon bite and Harry shut his mouth.

Hermione smirked and continued, "Anyways. Hagrid brought in hippogriffs for us to study during our first lesson. They are truly beautiful creatures, but very proud and _someone_ …" She didn't name names but it didn't stop the children from shouting out " _Malfoy!"_ and giggling as the blond turned a shade of pink at the laughter. He remembered all too well that lesson. "Someone was not paying attention and was injured."

"Milked it for all it was worth too, slimy git!" George threw out there, the room laughed.

"That bloody chicken almost severed my arm," Draco shot back at George, "I wasn't milking it." The room laughed again, including Blaise who knew the truth, "Okay! I did milk it a bit, but Madame Pomfrey did say the bloody chicken did nick a major artery in my arm."

Hermione laughed, "Anyways, Buckbeak was to stand trial for being a violent offender, which he wasn't, if someone would have just been paying attention and not trying to show off for a girl, it would have never happened."

Draco smirked, "I wasn't showing off for a girl."

"Oh no," Hermione challenged, "So it wasn't you who was telling Pansy that evening that you were in incredible pain?"

"Aunt Pansy?!" Scorpius scrunched his nose, not realising that his father and his aunt were that close.

Blaise sniggered, "Yes Scor, your dad and Pansy were very close when-"

"Anyways," Draco interrupted while his son blanched at that thought, "Of course I did, Pansy was a bit gullible and she would wait on me while I was hurt."

"You also used it to get out of playing quidditch, you right git." Ron reminded him.

Draco smirked at the redhead, "Of course I did, why would I want to play during a rainstorm?" Harry put up two fingers, then yelped as Ginny sent a hex at him. Everyone laughed as he rubbed his arm.

"I spent most of that year helping Hagrid prepare for that case, Lucius Malfoy was asking for that beautiful creature to be killed." At this everyone booed and Draco chuckled, looking at his mother with amusement. He had remembered that Narcissa Malfoy loved magical creatures, she was absolutely appalled that Lucius was looking to kill the animal. She was the reason Draco even took the subject, he wanted to make her proud. "In the end, Lucius had almost succeeded in getting Buckbeak killed." The children all murmured, "Aww"

"Harry, Ron and I all went to go to sit with Hagrid before the last trial and right before we were to go down the trail to his home, we ran into…" Once again the children chorused, " _Malfoy and his goons_." Draco raised an eyebrow at the hissing that was coming from the kids as the adults all chuckled. Smiling Hermione continued, "Well, _Malfoy_ was being an insufferable prat trying to watch Buckbeak be executed."

Draco winced at the boos that came out of the audience, "I know! I'm a prat, geeze, I might as well be Voldy in this story."

Cassie chuckled lightly, "You deserved it!"

Draco looked down at his daughter, "I've been told," Cassie began to laugh again.

"Well, I was so upset," Hermione went on, "I had done all this work to save this creature and here Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle were, laughing that he was going to have his head cut off."

"I wasn't laughing at that," Draco tried to defend and Hermione scoffed.

"You said you were going to have his head mounted in the common room," Hermione argued. "You were gloating and laughing so I slapped you."

"Yes, you slapped me hard too," Draco bit back.

"You slapped him really hard," Blaise agreed with an evil grin, "He had a black eye from that one slap."

The kids all laughed and cheered, Draco grumbled, "Okay, okay. I was a royal tosser, is that what you all want to hear?" More cheers and Hermione laughed, "Is this story over? How many of these do I have to live through where I'm the evil git?"

"A LOT," The children chimed in together with a giggle. Draco put up his hands and waved off the kids good naturedly and sat down next to his friend. Still laughing, Hermione continued the story, with the help of Ron, Harry and the children; all whom seem to know it very well.

Draco continued to be amazed as he heard the rest of the tale. About the Grimm, the whomping willow, the werewolf, the convict and the time turner. He had known that the trio had gotten the hippogriff to safety, but he had never known about this story.

After the story was over and the family began to get ready to leave. Draco pulled his beautiful girlfriend (for lack of a better term) aside and snogged her senseless. The whole of the Weasley clan began to wretch and giggle as the two adults went at it like teenagers. Ron, Harry and Blaise each took turns throwing bits of cookies at the kissing couple.

"Seriously, how did we go from hating Malfoy, to _that_?" George motioned towards the pair. Harry, Ron and Blaise all chuckled as the gagging noises got louder and Hermione put out a hand to push James head further away from them.

Harry shrugged, "I blame Ron," Ron looked affronted as Blaise and George both began to laugh.

"What did I do?"

"You fell in love with Lav," Harry snickered, "That left Hermione bereft at school that year and that led to Malfoy." Ron punched Harry in the arm as George laughed a little harder, "That also led to Blaise and Hermione moving away for years and just getting our family back, so it's all your fault."

"Hey, she told me to follow my heart," Ron argued, "She wanted us all to be happy, and besides," Ron said looking over at his little blonde haired niece, "I wouldn't trade Cassie for any other child in the world, and as much as we deny it. She is exactly like her father." Looking over at Blaise, Ron smirked, "Both of the snakey tossers."

Blaise smirked, "You are such a sappy Gryff, Weasley."

George and Harry both laughed as Cassie finally successfully pulled her mother away from her father with an embarrassed huff. Hermione just smiled at her daughter and moved over to give her parents a hug. They were on their way home, Charlie and Bill volunteering to apparate them home.

Blaise watched as Draco hugged Cassie who was mock chastising him for inappropriate affection in front of children and saw the smile on his daughter's beautiful face. Harry, who was still standing near his friend looked over too, "I don't know how you do it mate." Blaise glanced over at him, Harry nodded over at the father and daughter, "How do you let him in? For years, we all thought he was a giant prat who used Hermione and you were the only one who could see this coming. You encourage it, you encourage Hermione and him together. How do you do it?"

Blaise continued to watch the two Malfoys as they walked over to Graham and Jean and he just shrugged, "I've known Draco my entire life. I've always known what kind of man he was, underneath his outer prattish. I remember him, during their time together in school." He looked over at Harry and Ron, both listening to him intently, "He was a changed boy, still battling with the prejudice he was ingrained with, but he was changed because of her. I knew there had to be a reason why he would hurt her so much. After they broke up, even without me being around him as much, I saw how much he had changed. He wasn't the same prat, he was before. It was like he was lost, I can see that now."

"Do you think he will hurt her," Ron asked seriously.

Blaise looked at his two unlikely friends and shook his head, "No, I think he would die before that happens." He glanced over as Jean gave Draco a hug, which he returned a bit stiff and Blaise laughed, "No, I think he has been in love with my wife for thirteen years in one form or another, he is incapable of hurting her on purpose. He will never hurt his family, not after everything he's been through, everything we've all been through. He loves her and Cassie. I saw it in his eyes almost the first time he saw her."

Ron looked over at Draco shaking hands with Graham, "Well, if he ever forgets about that love, I know where to bury the body."

Harry, Blaise and George all chuckled again and began to get ready to leave.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Hi everyone, I know I'm extremely late with this chapter. This time of year is busy so I blame the holidays as well as school and the fact that my muse was busy trying to figure out what to write about. This chapter is unbeta'd (per norm) my beta is awesome, but swamped with her own RL stuff so I'm on my own. I wrote this chapter listening to** **A Thousand Years,** **by Christina Perri and let me tell you, it brings out the feels and the sappy stuff so be warned, you may tear up a bit. I was going to take this a bit further, but it was a good place to end this chapter so let the fun begin.**

 **Peace, Love, and Slyther,**

 **Gimi aka Jess**

A soft moan permeated the air. The only other noise was the crackling of the fire in the grate. The light from the hearth dancing across the semi darkness. Fingertips ghosted over soft skin, goose pimples following the wake of pleasure that raced through Hermione's body. Another moan escaped her lips, Draco swallowed it as he kissed her deeply, feeling the blood racing through his veins.

The family had left, the children all screaming for one last fly around the grounds, one last story, one last piece of pie when Molly Weasley finally said enough and the children all quieted down. Draco was impressed, but none of the others were. Molly Weasley had raised seven children, every single one of them knew just when she meant business, it wasn't surprising that her grandchildren would know the same.

Blaise, Susan and the children were all in bed and Draco and Hermione were sprawled out on the couch in the sitting room continuing to snog like they were teenagers again. His hand moved down her bare arm, gooseflesh trailing behind his slim fingers as their lips were entangled where they laid.

Hermione shivered at his hot touch, the heat filling her body with need, a need she had not felt since her divorce. Forgetting her self control, she ran her hands through his soft hair, pulling his head back from their kiss to look into those eyes, those grey eyes filled with lust that matched her own. Panting slightly, she shook her head as to clear the fogginess that was engulfing her brain, "D-Dra… Draco," she got out after a deep breath, " Draco, we need to go upstairs."

Draco stiffened, he knew they had gone too far, but she looked so edible that evening and after their declaration to each other that afternoon, he had thought they were on the same page. He let out a breath, trying to calm his heart and other parts of his anatomy and nodded, "Yes, I'm sorry, let's go to bed." He stood up quickly and presented a hand to help her stand as well.

Taking his hand, Hermione stood slowly bringing her free hand to his cheek. She stood on her tiptoes and kissed him, gently at first then deepening it once he began to respond to her again. Pulling their entwined hands behind her back, she started to ghost her own fingers down his cheek, pleased to feel him tremble under her touch, much the same as she did to him, down his chest, she hadn't even noticed that his button down blue shirt had been opened and untucked during their session on the couch. Bringing her hand underneath his clothes; feeling his hard muscles under her soft fingers. Pulling out of their kiss, she looked him in the eye as her hand found their way up to his left pec, his nipple rock hard under her palm; she could feel his heart beating into her hand. "Let's go to bed Draco," She said, her voice rough, scratching at his skin lightly as she brought her hand down in a bold move and felt his hardness through his trousers.

Draco groaned softly as the rough material of his pants rubbed against him. Dropping his head against hers, he nodded with his eyes closed, enjoying the almost painful caresses Hermione was performing through his trousers. Feeling her hand pull away, he ached for her hand to continue, but swallowing down his lust for a moment, he led her by the hand out of the sitting room and up the stairs to their wing.

 **OoOoOoO**

Blaise waking up with sun filtering through the window, sat up in the bed he had been using since he was a child, looked over at his beautiful girlfriend with a look of absolute adoration. Being back in this room, a room he considered his just as much as he did his own in his youth, brought back many memories of the past. Running his fingers through Susan's blonde hair he couldn't help but smile at the content moan that came out of her. That little moan was what he needed to make the decision he had been going back and forth about for days now. Determined, he leaned over and kissed Susan on the forehead whispering that he would be back in a bit. Susan gave him a sleepy nod without opening her eyes as he slipped out of bed.

As Blaise left his room, he strolled over to the other side of the manor, knowing that Scorpius now occupied the room that Draco had as a child, meaning that Draco's room was in his parent's wing and that was where he would find his ex-wife. Blaise knocked on the door he knew to be Narcissa's old suite. As he knocked on the door, he heard a door crack open behind him and as he turned, an audible gasp greeted him as he came face to face with Draco and Hermione.

Hermione, turned bright red at the sight of her ex husband. While she was not shy about kissing Draco in front of her ex as he encouraged them together, she didn't like that he was standing there as she left his room. Draco chuckled as Hermione elbowed him in the ribs and Blasie just stood there with a big grin on his face. She could already tell he was trying to contain something. Draco kissed her on the cheek and then walked back into his room, leaving Hermione to deal with Blaise. Hermione, staring at the back of Draco's head as he closed the door, began to plan different ways to murder or hex him in his sleep as Blaise cleared his throat.

"I'd ask how you slept last night, but I'm assuming poorly." Blaise chuckled as his ex turned back to him.

Hermione narrowed her eyes and walked over to Blaise, opened her door and walked through. Turning around to face him, "I slept perfectly, thank you."

Blaise walked in before she could slam the door in his face and continued to chuckle as he sat down on the sofa in the middle of the room. He had never been in this room, never having a need to when he was a child, but he knew enough to know, this was not Narcissa's style, this was made for Hermione. He smiled secretly happy that his friend was stepping up completely for his ex. She deserved the best.

Hermione sat down across from him as he continued to smirk. The ache he had expected, the little bit of a dull pang when he saw his Hermione with Draco diminished a little every day. He had gone into their marriage knowing that Draco was her soulmate. That she loved him, loved him with everything she had to give him at the time. Blaise was fully aware that he loved her more than she did him, but she grew to love him just as much as the years went by. At one time, he had had it all, the woman he loved and the family who loved him back. Even when they got divorced, it wasn't because they didn't love each other. Even the children knew that, but because they didn't love each other the way they each deserved. Hermione was his first love, but Susan, Susan was the love of his life. He had thought he knew love, but she had opened his heart in a way he hadn't known. The way Draco loved Hermione. He finally felt like he knew why Draco would choose to break her heart than risk Hermione's life. Blaise would do anything for Susan.

Blaise continued to watch his ex as she squirmed a bit, "What?!" She finally shouted and he openly laughed. Huffing slightly, Hermione crossed her arms, "Blaise Dante, what are you laughing at?"

"Nothing," Blaise said grinning, "I'm just thinking about how weird our lives are, that's all." Hermione raised her eyebrows in confusion and he just shook his head. "'Mione, we are divorced and we are sitting here, in your new/old love's home, who happens to be the father of my daughter and the love of your life while my love, who you reintroduced me to, is sleeping down on the other side of the manor. Our kids are all sleeping, they all get along like they all grew up together and the Weasleys actually accept Draco, they took months to accept me, but for him, they do it in weeks. Did you EVER imagine we would end up here?"

Hermione laughed finally, "Uh… no. I had given up on it all if you remember correctly." Scooting over to her ex, they both sat back on the couch, his arm around her shoulder and her head on his chest, "I would have become a crazy cat lady if it weren't for the kids." Looking up at her ex, "I truly thought I was done with love after we were finished." Blaise kissed her on her head, running his hand through her curly locks.

"Mi, Love," Blaise started, his nerves starting to claim him again. Hermione looked up concern, pulling away a little.

"Mi," Blaise said again, taking a breath, "I want to marry Susan."

A wave of emotions hit Hermione at once, her Blaise was moving on with his life, with their life… no, not their life, that was over. He was moving on from her. Blaise brought his hand up to hers, laying it atop of her's on his chest, "Mi," he whispered, running his other hand down her shoulder, she pulled away a little more, Blaise brought his hands to her neck, holding her close to him, running his thumbs across her unnoticed wet cheeks.

Hermione closed her eyes, willing the tears to stop. She was not sad, not really. She was extremely happy for Blaise and Susan, but she couldn't help but continue to mourn her… well… her life. The life as Hermione Zabini; Hermione was never unhappy with her life, she had always loved her family. She couldn't help but feel selfish for wanting it back because she wanted Blaise to be happy and he was. Blaise was happier than she had ever seen him, sans when their children were born. Happier than he had ever been with her; she was ashamed to see how much that thought really hurt her. That someone other than she had made Blaise so blissfully happy; that he wanted another family, besides her. Logically she knew they would always be family, but for that moment in time, she felt outside.

"Mi," Blaise whispered as his heart broke for his wi- his ex-wife. He had not expected tears, he wasn't sure what he was expecting, but tears was not on the list.

Hermione let out a deep breath and opened her eyes, looking into his concerned blue ones and she gave him a shaky smile. "I'm okay Blaise, I'm truly happy for you." Blaise snorted and she brought her hands up to his, squeezing gently, "I am, you just took me by surprise. I'm so happy for you, but a bit sad for me too. I'm just being selfish, you've always been there for me. I've come to expect to come first in your life, for many, many years and now I don't know where I will stand." Blaise still looked confused and Hermione gave him a sad smile, "See? I'm a complete cow, you are my best friend, I should be happy and all I think about is me."

Blaise chuckled, "You are not a cow, I know what you mean. It's not easy sometimes to watch each other move on. I know it's not easy for me, trying to forget the past or rather, put it aside and just watch you be happy."

Hermione's lip began to quiver and she threw her arms around Blaise. Blaise pulled her into his lap and began to run his hands down her hair, shushing the now sobbing woman in his arms.

"I love you Blaise Zabini," Hermione whispered, "I know Susan makes you so happy. She is family, make her family."

Blaise smiled into her hair and kissed her temple, looking into her honey eyes, he grinned, "I love you too Hermione Zabini, you will always be family. I wanted to tell you first, I want to tell the children today."

Hermione let out a very un-Hermione squeal and smiled brightly, Blaise could see the excitement in her eyes despite the wet cheeks. "Have you already proposed?"

Blaise gave her a cheeky grin and Hermione slapped him on the arm, "Ow! Woman that hurt, you are going to bruise my perfect skin!"

"Blaise Zabini, I am your best friend, your very best and you didn't tell me first?" Hermione dropped her hands from his arm to her waist, looking a tad silly as she was still sitting across his lap.

"Ow, Hermione, damnit!" Blaise shouted back as she brought her hand up again, hitting him, "To be fair, you are my best friend, but you're also my ex-wife. Even in our relationship, that is a bit weird."

Hermione scoffed, sliding off Blaise's lap, "I'm dating Draco Malfoy, ex-death eater, biological father to our daughter and was just sitting in my newly engaged ex-husband's lap crying because I'm a selfish cow. Somehow I don't think you confiding in me about your engagement plans is what's weird."

Blaise chuckled, "Okay, you were the first person outside of Susan to find out, is that better?"

Hermione pretended to think about it, she shrugged her shoulders, "I guess so," she gave him another hug, leaning away from him she smiled, "You asked her last night didn't you?"

Blaise's jaw dropped, "How did you know?"

Hermione laughed, "Because, my darling Blaise," she teased, "You may have skipped telling me first, but I know you. There is no way you would have waited any length of time to tell me or the world that you were getting married. If you were still speaking to your friends when we got married, you would have taken an ad out in every wizarding publication there was."

Blaise grinned, "You know me so well."

Hermione smiled, a bit of sadness marring her pretty face, playing with the four carat emerald cut diamond she wore on her right hand, she took it off and put it in Blaise's hand, "I do know you and that is why you are going to give your bride to be the Zabini ring." Blaise began to shake his head, saying that it was her's, but Hermione just closed his fist around the ring that had not been off her hand except to change from left to right, for almost thirteen years. The ring had been passed down to every Zabini bride and Hermione had only been holding on to it because Blaise refused to take it back from her; just because they weren't married didn't mean she wasn't family. So it only moved to her non wedding finger.

Hermione nodded, fresh tears, but no sadness in her eyes, "Yes, it is tradition. Every Zabini bride must wear the ring."

Blaise kissed Hermione on both cheeks, "You are the most amazing woman Hermione Zabini." He declared pulling her into another hug.

Hermione laughed into his shoulder, "We really have the strangest divorce in the world." She could feel his shoulders bounce and she knew he was laughing too.

He pulled away and stood, pulling her along with him. "We do, but I couldn't ask for a better partner." Giving her one last kiss and promising to be down at breakfast in a couple hours, he left her room.

Hermione went over and crawled into her bed, pulling the covers over head and began to sob. She was happy for Blaise, so very happy, but her heart felt like it was breaking again. Her life as she was use to was gone. That thought was overwhelming and scary to say the least. She hadn't heard the door open as she cried, hadn't even felt the dip in the bed or shift of covers as Draco's familiar scent surrounded her as he pulled her into his chest and let her mourn the true end of her marriage to his best friend. Blaise had been there for her last heartbreak, it was now his turn. He let her cry until she had nothing left, soothing her the way he remembered doing after one of her nightmares in school; not speaking, just grounding her with his touch. Sooner than he expected she began to snooze. Kissing her on the forehead, he closed his eyes, feeling more content than he had in a long time.

 **OoOoOoO**

After her mild breakdown, Hermione awoke confused as to why she was cuddled into Draco's side, still not remembering that he had joined her sometime after her sobbing had started. Looking up at the blond man she loved, she noticed that asleep he no longer had the soft boyish features he had when they were children. His face was no longer as pointy, but had filled out a bit. The faint trace of a blond stubble graced his strong jaw, surprising to Hermione. Draco seemed like the type of man to master the magical razor which kept the man smooth for a week at a time. As he was clean shaven the day before, meant he shaved daily; an interesting fact to learn about the man.

Bringing her right hand up to his face, she marveled how he cuddled into her fingers, letting her caress his cheek. Her heart sung at the innocent move but the obvious absence of the ring was still heavy as well. Extending her fingers, her hand felt odd, like a part of her was missing. Hermione figured that hole would someday fill, it just wasn't going to be that day.

As she was entranced by her hand, Draco brought his own up to hers and pressed her hand to his lips, muttering about how beautiful she was. Hermione laughed, pointing out his eyes were closed. Draco was not phased, he simply smiled and stated that he had spent hours when they were young studying her face while she slept, he knew every bit of her. Even now, he would study her all the time, he could see her with his eyes shut. Pulling her back down for a kiss, "I've been dreaming of you for the better part of thirteen years Love," he confessed, his grey eyes find hers, "I've never stopped."

Hermione felt her heart lighten at his words, feeling right then that she wasn't lost, she wasn't alone. Blaise was not the only one who found where he belonged, she had too. While she had moved on with Blaise, Draco's heart had only been for her. That was a nice thought, that she was not stagnant. Draco was her future, wherever that led.

 **OoOoOoO**

Another hour of sleep, the family began to descend to the kitchens for their last meal together. Cassie and Scorpius had to be back at Hogwarts that afternoon for classes. The mood in the kitchen was one of happy chaos. The children had a wonderful weekend with their family and new friends. Hermione sat watching Scorpius serve some bacon to Owen, while Cassie poured orange juice for everyone. Susan was doing the same with coffee for the adults when Marco noticed the familiar bauble on her finger.

"Susie, what is that?" Marco asked, pointing at her hand. The room instantly went silent except for the last of the juice leave Cassie's jug. Marco's tan face went ashen as he bit his lip, turning to look at his mother. Hermione's eyes began to tear but she held the bright smile on her face in happiness.

Cassie looked up and dropped the jug on the floor. She looked over as Hermione stood up and went to hold Blaise's hand, both smiling at their daughter. Hermione, still smiling brightly began to cry as Cassie whimpered and tears fell from her grey eyes. Marco also began to whimper, not knowing what else to do and walked up to his mother, looking up and silently asking what to do.

Hermione brought her little boy into her arms and hugged him close, smiling and chuckling, she looked up at Cassie and nodded. Cassie ran into her arms and hugged her tight, sobbing for her mother, for her family, for all the changes that were happening in such a short period of time. Sobbing her love for her mother, her fathers, her brothers and for her family.

Blaise brought his arms around his family and Cassie moved her hug over to her papa, the man she loved with her whole heart, that no one could live up to. She clung to the man whom had loved her since her birth, knowing he would always love her. Whispering her love to him in his ear, sobbing for reasons unknown to herself. Sadness engulfing her little heart, but also filled with love and happiness for everything. Cassie was just a bundle of emotions that her little eleven year old mind couldn't comprehend fully. But she knew, she knew if her mom was happy with the changes, everything was going to be okay.

Loosening her grip from her father, she walked over to Susan. Owen, who was still confused by the commotion had gone to stand with his mother. Looking up at the woman who was to become her step-mother, Cassie gave her a small genuine smile and wrapped her arms around the Hufflepuff. Hermione walked over as well and threw her arms around both of them, half crying, half laughing. Marco, hugged his father quickly then ran over and pulled Owen into a hug, yelling about how they were going to be brothers.

Scorpius, who was still confused, looked concerned at his sister as she continued to hug Susan, both of them with tears in their eyes. Hermione gave the woman a kiss on the cheek and a watery smile, welcoming her to the family.

The noise began again and after everyone had their moment to calm down, Draco went over and gave Susan a hug and kiss on the cheek as well as a hug to Blaise. Cassie held onto her mother, feeling her warmth, her security, her strength. She had no idea her life would so drastically change in such a short period of time, but as she watched the happy smiles on her father and Susan's faces. The looks of glee on her, now three, brothers and felt the way Draco had an arm around Hermione and on her shoulder, she leaned back and breathed in his scent, liking the way it calmed her. Her life had changed over the last few months, but despite it all, she didn't mind it at all.


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: I know, I suck so bad! It took some time to get this chapter together and even now I don't know that it makes much sense. I love it though. I was going to make it longer, but the next scene is extensive and a party so it would have taken even longer to get out. So that will be the next chapter. This chapter has been half beta'd, GidgetMalfoy is amazing and I love her loads. There is mention of an OC character. The name is a name of a friend. I have no plans on making her real, but thank you, CharmedWitchofRavenclaw for the use of the name, it's a pretty funny scene. I hope you all enjoy.**

 **Peace, Love, and Slyther**

 **Gimi aka Jess**

November passed into December and Draco was as nervous as could be at the start of the month. Sitting in his office, watching the snow swirl past, he contemplated what to do when Pansy walked into his office.

"Okay Draco, what the fuck is your deal now?" Her voice echoed behind him.

Draco smiled, leave it to Pansy not to tiptoe around him while he was contemplating what to do next. "What do you mean?" he asked, turning around.

"You are sitting there like you're…" Pansy bit her lip, trying to describe her friend, "I don't know, something, what is wrong? You have the girl you've evidently been pining for. How, I have no idea, like that happens to anyone but a fucking Malfoy. You have the girl, you have your daughter, you have children who are taking to this whole half sibling thing unfuckingbelievably well, not to mention the ex-husband of your lady love is your best mate again who is cheering you on for loving his ex-wife." Pansy laid it all out on the table for him, "What the fuck are you sitting here like a hippogriff is about to eat you for?"

"Pansy-" Draco started, but she cut him off.

"No, Draco what the fuck are you sulking for?"

Draco groaned, "I'm not sulking you insufferable harpy, I'm trying to think about what to get Cassie for her twelfth birthday." Pansy continued to stare at him and he groaned again. "Her birthday is the fifthteenth of this month, our first birthday with her. My mother is going completely nuts, buying her robes and anything a young girl may need. But Cassie is a Zabini, I doubt she needs anything. I want to get her something significant, but nothing too scary for a child who is just starting to trust me as a father type figure in her life, and I don't want to step on Blaise's toes because he has been so good to share and- OKAY I'M SULKING" Draco shouted out loud and Pansy began to chortle.

"You are scared of a twelve year old little girl, it's like third year all over again after Hermione punched you."

Draco narrowed his eyes, "I was not scared of Hermione in third year."

Pansy outright guffawed, "According to Greg, you just about cried. Face it, you were more scared of her than you were of the hippogriff."

Draco grumbled, "If you saw a fist coming at your face, you'd be scared a bit, too!" Looking back at his friend he continued, "Pans, this is our first real holiday with her, with them. Knowing Hermione, it's nothing like what we are use to. Scorp and I, I don't want to get her something she feels required to like."

Pansy laughed, "Oh Draco, of course she's going to be obligated, she's a Zabini and a Malfoy, it's in her blood to be obligated… though being a Granger might throw her through a loop. I don't think you have to worry though, that girl is something else, if it wasn't for the hair color and the eyes, I would swear she isn't your daughter."

Draco chuckled, "You would be surprised, Pans, by that little girl. She used Scorpius in order to talk her parents and myself into hosting that big family dinner last month."

Pansy threw a quill at Draco, "Yeah, what about that? It was a family dinner, why weren't Theo and I invited?"

Draco smirked, "Because I already had to deal with every Weasley known to wizardkind, the last thing I needed was Theo making my already hard job more trying."

Pansy nodded her head, "Okay, you have a point. But, the next time we are excluded from a family outing, I will tell that entire red-headed family how you threw me over for Millicent Bulstrode in fifth year."

Draco paled, "I did not! Theo slipped me a love potion!"

Pansy giggled mercilessly, "Somehow I will forget to mention that part. Don't forget, I have witnesses, and I'm pretty sure Theo still has a picture somewhere of you snogging Milly like she was your favourite dessert."

"Why am I friends with you lot again?" Draco snickered, remembering that night. While humiliating at the time, it was a bit funny now. He had gotten Theo and Blaise back for that prank, making Greg and Vince take polyjuice potion of two sexy sixth year Slytherins and watched their faces as they were about to start snogging in the common room as the hour ran out. No one had seen this little episode, except for Draco and they all took a vow of secrecy that night never to reveal it, but it had been worth the hexes to see Theo's face as Vince began to change back. Snogging Milly was nowhere near as embarrassing then.

"Because no one else likes you," Pansy told him matter of factly. She smiled sympathetically, "Draco, owl Blaise, ask him what would be a good gift for her. That way you can see what she likes and see where he stands with what you get her."

Draco nodded in agreement and sent an owl to his old friend. He wondered if he could somehow let it slip how Emily McArthur was doing. Draco snickered as he watched the owl fly away, feeling better about his present dilemma.

OoOoOoO

"Gin, this is ridiculous," Hermione whinged at her friend as they walked through the shop. She stopped and looked at a deep purple wrap dress, while they were in a wizarding shop. The owners were muggleborn and brought muggle clothes as well as wizarding robes to their establishment. Pulling it up to her body she stared in the mirror next to her trying to figure out if it would work for her coloring.

"It's not ridiculous," Hermione could hear Ginny's muffled voice to the right of her coming from a changing room, "You need a new dress for Christmas dinner." Hermione spied a maroon sweater dress and began to pick it up before shaking her head and looking elsewhere. She had enough of maroon in school, she was perfectly fine without it gracing her closet in droves anymore. The odd item here and there and even a few uniforms in her old school trunk, but that was it.

Looking in the mirror Hermione replied, "Gin, we're supposed to be shopping for gifts, not for ourselves." Hermione noticed someone standing a few feet behind her in the mirror. Taking a closer look she realised it was Astoria Greengrass. Catching Astoria's eye, she turned around as the woman began to walk up to her.

Seeing a navy sweater dress on a nearby rack, Hermione picked it up and held it against her frame as she waited for the blonde woman to make her way over. Women were so predictable at times. They can't just leave well enough alone, they always have to be catty. This is probably why all of her friends were boys growing up. Girls were just too much work, even fighting Voldemort was less work than dealing with women.

"You homewrecking bitch!"

Hermione almost laughed, this was not the response she had been expecting from the witch. From what she had gathered from Draco, Pansy, and even Scorpius, Astoria was less than an attentive wife and mother. Quite the opposite really, never really spending time with her son or ex-husband. Hermione just stood there, knowing that if she opened her mouth at that moment, two things were likely to happen, she would laugh at the stupid woman or hex her. While she was pretty sure she could get away with hexing the daft woman, Hermione had promised to leave Astoria alone and even though she wanted to curse this witch within an inch of her stilettos, she had given her word and Hermione Granger was nothing but true to her word.

"You stole my husband! You will not get away with it!" Astoria spat out, getting angrier every moment she stood in front of the muggleborn witch. Hermione just stood there, holding the dress in front of her, holding it to keep her hand away from her wand she kept holstered to her arm.

There was a snort behind the two women, Ginny had finished in the changing room and found her friend being confronted by the ex Missus Malfoy, "Hermione didn't steal your husband, he was never yours. He had always belonged with Hermione. You were just the bint who was holding her place." Ginny said firmly, walking up to the two women with a grin, "Don't tell me, you actually want Draco back?" Ginny asked, amused.

"I want my son back!" Astoria whispered harshly. Hermione would have felt bad for the woman had she not seen the look of rage in the witch's blue eyes. This was not a woman who missed her son, this was a woman who missed the lifestyle of a Malfoy. While the Greengrass family were not paupers, they were not Malfoy wealthy by any life she would have led as Astoria Malfoy, well… being a Greengrass was not an accurate comparison. Having access to Scorpius would mean she would have access to his vaults. Which is why, Hermione suspected, Draco had full custody of their child.

"I have nothing to do with that," Hermione told her simply, "If you want to see your son, talk to Draco." Looking over at Ginny who was deciding between two dresses. Hermione decided to buy both the navy sweater dress as well as the purple one she had looked at earlier.

Hermione went to move away from Astoria when the younger witch grabbed Hermione's arm tightly, forcing her to turn and look at her, "You will not get away with this you fucking cunt!" Astoria whispered ferociously, "Draco is mine! Scorpius is mine! Stay away from my family!"

Hermione narrowed her eyes and non-verbally hexed Astoria so she flew into one of the racks of clothing just as Ginny procured her wand and pointed it at Astoria. The shop full of witches looked around nervously as if they were waiting for someone to stop the impending explosion.

Hermione walked over and stood above Astoria, "Never touch me again. Scorpius may be your son, I won't deny that, but Draco? He belongs to me."

"I'll kill you, you stupid Mudblood," Astoria hissed, an embarrassed blush creeping up her face as she realised that the store was watching their whole exchange. At the word Mudblood, a collective gasp echoed around the shop.

Hermione chuckled, "You could try. Bellatrix LeStrange couldn't do it, so I doubt I have to worry about a second rate witch like yourself harming me."

"Ms. Greengrass," Madam Malkin's voice rang out from across the shop, "I don't allow such behaviour in my shop, I am going to have to ask you to take your business elsewhere."

Astoria stood up, anger radiating off of her body as Madam Malkin walked up to escort her out of the shop, "Don't worry, I won't be coming back!" Astoria said with a sneer on her face aimed at the older shop owner, "As soon as I tell everyone what kind of trash you let shop here, I doubt many will be back either."

Madam Malkin just pointed at the door and smiled at her, "My dear," She said with a sugary tone of contempt, "You are no longer a Malfoy, the entire wizarding world knows it." Astoria's face went pale as she glanced around at the half full shop, Madam Malkin went on, "You have also attacked a war heroine in front of my entire store as well as Harry Potter's wife. Do you honestly think you have any clout amongst the wizarding world? Get out of my store before I call the MLE and have you arrested for destruction of property."

Astoria, realising that no one was coming to her aid, pulled her shoulders back and held her chin up. Giving Hermione one last glare and a silent vow to hurt the witch if it was the last thing she did, she left the store with whatever dignity she had left.

Hermione, rolled her eyes, pulled out her wand and righted the rack and the clothes, syphoning off any dirt that had landed on the fabric, she then turned to apologise to Madam Malkin, but was waved off with a graceful hand. Hermione smiled, she and Ginny made their purchases and left the store. As the door closed behind Ginny, Hermione could hear the buzz of gossip start. Ginny laughed at the look of resentment that marred Hermione's face. She felt bad for her friend, but then again. She wasn't the one who publically announced to the world that She and Draco Malfoy for officially a couple to the home where all gossip grew legs.

OoOoOoO

"It's not funny Blaise!"

Chuckling, "No, no, it's not"

"Blaise!"

More laughter and a breathy, "I'm sorry Cara, no, you're right it's not…" Blaise couldn't even finish the sentence as he was overcome with more laughs. He was looking at an article in the gossiping rag, Wizarding World News. The incident at Madam Malkin's had made headlines and there was even a picture of Astoria grabbing Hermione and then flying back into the racks.

Unlike other wizarding pictured, somehow WWN had charmed this picture to be on repeat, so every three seconds Astoria went flying. This was what Blaise was currently laughing at, he had always found Hermione's non verbal magic to be strong, Astoria had gone flying only five or six feet, but she had pulled down four racks of clothes in the process.

"Why are you upset? Hermione, this doesn't say anything that wasn't true." Blaise knew because Ginny had made sure to mention it at a Weasley family meal at The Burrow the following day. Draco had enjoyed teasing her about her possessive nature over him.

"I know it's all true, but our relationship shouldn't have come out in one of these rags. I hate to say it, but I should have let Rita write it, but we weren't ready. We wanted to wait until the kids were okay and now it's all gone to shit."

Blaise began to laugh again, his ex-wife was not one to use much foul language, she must have been really upset. He probably should have been more understanding, but he was in such a good mood these days, he couldn't feel it in his heart to worry about a true article in a magazine.

"Hermione, it's fine," He said swallowing his laughter. He knew that if he didn't get it under control somehow his mother would find out he was teasing her about it and even all these years later, he was somewhat afraid of his mother. No one dared to cross Eliana Zabini, she was like Narcissa when it came to family. He hated to admit it, but she had started to like Hermione more than her own son, a fact that Hermione would bring up constantly when they were married as a family joke. "It's fine, the Prophet had posted that one article on Halloween, people have known you two were friendly. Maybe friendlier than most would want their heroine consorting with an ex death eater, but what are they going to do? They can't interview me, they can't get near the kids. It'll be fine. If Astoria opens her mouth once more, I'm pretty sure Draco will leave her completely penniless."

Hermione groaned and sat on the sofa in their office. Blaise went to sit next to her, "Blaise, it's not the article that bugs me, it's the one that has to come next. The one we have to give about Cassie being a Malfoy."

"Ah," Blaise finally understood. He put an arm around his ex and pulled her close to him, "I actually hadn't thought of that," and he hadn't. It had been three months and the families had merged so smoothly that he didn't remember that the whole world didn't know that Cassie was a Malfoy as much as she was Granger and Zabini.

Blaise sat there a moment, arm around Hermione with eyes glazed slightly in thought, "Well, we'll just have to break the story first. The kids will be coming home tomorrow for the holidays. Set up an interview with Rita for two days time and the Daily Prophet will break the big scandal ourselves. Rita has been salivating over this story since the day she found out."

Groaning again, Hermione got up and threw some floo powder into the grate of the fireplace, shouting out Draco's office, she called for Draco to come through. If they were setting up an interview with the family, they needed to prepare.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: I finally got this chapter done. This was not an easy chapter to write and I have been incredibly busy the last few months with life. I was conflicted if I wanted to include the article with Rita in this chapter, but it ended up getting pushed back to the next chapter instead. This is more fluff and fill, but it's sweet and I love it. It has not been beta'd yet, but will be soon. Thank you all for being patient with my muse. She's a real bitch sometimes, but hopefully, she is back. Don't give up on Cassie, she is still my baby. There is a reference to a game and a school that was used in a fic that I collabed with. The school mentioned in this fic is a school that was used in America's Calling. The game, Broomball, was also featured in that story. The use of these items were partially my creation and my co-writers know that I am using them within other stories. Please stop by and read America's Calling which will be finished** **by my co-writer Kate. It is still up under our co-writing penname, TheGoldenTrioJKS.**

 **Peace, Love, and Slyther,**

 **Gimi aka Jess**

The kids came home from Hogwarts to a flurry of activity. Once they got off the train, Draco and Scorpius joined the Zabinis back at Hermione's home to discuss what was to happen the day of their interview. The school holiday had started the seventeenth of December, two days after Cassie's twelfth birthday.

Hermione and Blaise had been planning a small celebration at Eliana's home for that evening, inviting all the family, including the Notts. Hermione and Blaise had both decided that they were Draco's family and Blaise's oldest friends, they were just as much family as the Weasleys were. The party was that evening, but they wanted to tell the kids about the interview that was happening that Monday.

The kids had both known that it would have to be done. While they may have only been eleven and twelve, they knew that their parents were famous, or infamous, in their world. The news of them dating had even made the papers, they knew that Cassie was going to be making the papers as well. They didn't get it, but they understood it.

"So Monday, Rita will be interviewing us," Blaise explained to the kids as Susan had taken Marco and Owen upstairs. They were all sitting in the kitchen, or "Family Central" as Cassie called it. While Peekey was plying the two children with biscuits and pumpkin juice, sneaking a few on a tray to bring up to the younger boys. Hermione frowned but knew better than to argue with Peekey. Peekey would do what she wanted, Cassie was her baby, and Cassie always got what she wanted from the elf.

Draco sat next to Scorpius and took one of the biscuits from Cassie's plate, which she then smacked his hand, "You shouldn't steal cookies from your child, get your own!" She reprimanded. The look on her face was so much like her mother's that Draco started to laugh, giving her back her biscuit and a kiss on the top of her hair. Grabbing one of his own from the plate, smirking at Hermione and Blaise. The latter who was laughing at him for being told off by a twelve-year-old. Cassie rolled her eyes at her parents and continued to eat her snack while her mother explained what kinds of questions the reporter would ask her and that she didn't have to answer anything she wasn't comfortable with.

Cassie nodded looking up from her plate at a noise from the corridor and squealed with excitement. "Uncle Landon! What are you doing here?!" The little girl jumped out of her seat and threw herself at the man who then swung her around with a laugh.

"You didn't think I would miss my Cupcake's birthday extravaganza do you?" He said giving the blonde girl a squeeze, "I've missed your face Lovely." Landon said giving her a big smile.

"I've missed you too!" Cassie said with a bright smile of her own. "I'm so excited, did you know Papa is getting married? Are you going to be in the wedding, I bet my dress will be fabulous. My Papa has amazing taste, Susan is almost as pretty as Mommy."

Blaise snorted, leaned down to Draco and Hermione, "That," he said looking at Draco with a grin, "That, she learned from me."

Hermione and Draco both laughed as Susan walked in after setting the two boys upstairs with Quidditch figures and a travel pitch. Landon put Cassie down and gave Susan a big hug in greeting.

"Susan, when are you going to run away with me," Landon roared, causing Cassie to start laughing. Hermione shushed her daughter and shooed Scorpius and her out of the kitchen and upstairs as Draco started laughing and Blaise shook his head.

"Hermione, Love." Blaise said to his ex, "Looks like you've been replaced in Landon's heart. I always knew he coveted what I had."

Landon smirked as he let Susan go, "What can I say? You have beautiful wives." Hermione laughed and threw a biscuit at him. Landon smiled, walked over and gave Hermione a kiss on the cheek and said his goodbyes as he was off to visit with his paramour. The four adults shook their heads in amusement and began to make dinner and discuss the plans for the holidays.

 **OoOoOoO**

Cassie's birthday celebration the next day went off without a hitch. Eliana's home was every bit as grand as Malfoy Manor and seemed to radiate life with the forty or more people milling around to celebrate the first grandchild of the, now, three families. The children and some of the Weasley adults had taken to using the indoor pool that Blaise had installed for his mother.

Ron, Harry, Landon, George and Blaise were rounding together a few of the men for a game of Broomball. An American sport that Landon had taught Blaise while the Zabini's lived in New York. A sort of American football game on brooms that he had played while at school off the coast of California. A wizarding school called The Wizarding Academy of Magic. Apparently, Hermione and Blaise had been considering it for Cassie before Hermione had been called back to London because of her mother's illness.

Blaise and Harry were the captains of the two teams. Blaise had put together a pretty decent team consisting of Draco, Ginny, Lavender, Pansy, Charlie, and Susan. Harry's team was comprised of Ron, Angelina, George, Theo, Bill, and Landon. Hermione, who still was not happy on a broom, opted to play referee for the game.

The premise of the game was easy enough. One ball instead of three and played low to the ground because tackling to strip the ball from the other team was essential. First team to get to twenty points wins. Draco, Pansy, and Theo were not familiar with the game, but it seemed easy enough. At least that is what Draco thought until Harry and Ron both flew directly into him, knocking the wind out of him as Ron grabbed him around the waist, pulling him to the ground just as Harry tackled him high and catching him around the shoulders to land on top of the pile. Blaise shook his head from four feet up, knowing full well that the Gryffindor men did that as one last dig into their former enemy for whatever remaining school rivalry lingered. While they all got along these days, Blaise could tell that Hermione's two best friends just needed one last punch to Draco for all the shit he had put them through all those years ago.

What he was not expecting was to see Cassie come running up, red faced and blonde hair flying behind her as she screamed at her uncles to get off of Draco. The seated adults all smirked as the little twelve-year-old waved her hand in the Gryffindors faces, very reminiscent of her mother, for excessive roughness in the game. Landon and Theo openly guffawed at the two men receiving the dressing down as Draco sat up, once his lungs reinflated with air.

Blaise smiled at his little girl, he loved his Cassie with every breath in his body. Even now, as she was showing concern over his best mate, her biological father; Blaise felt nothing but love for the little girl. She had changed his life. When he had decided to stay in Hermione's life when he fell in love with her and decided to marry her and make her child his own. He had known he had done it out of duty, out of love for his best friend and for the love he had felt for Hermione. He had not expected to fall head over heels for the little girl that came to be.

He clearly remembered the day she had been born. How he and Hermione were stuck on that damned muggle underground when her water broke. How they had been surrounded by muggles and no way to get to the wizarding hospital and had to go to the closest Muggle hospital for the birth. Blaise could see that day, so clearly, the fear he had over the strange tubes and noise machines the muggle healers put on Hermione. He remembered hearing his child's heartbeat echo off the walls of the sterile room, the look of pain that would cross Hermione's face every few minutes. The hours of muggle medi-personnel checking on his new wife, the looks of concern during contractions and finally the healer explaining that his new wife had to have a searan section? It was something like that.

Blaise remembered the feeling of utter helplessness as a team of people came in and wheeled his wife out of the room, leaving him with a muggle nurse, he thought that was the right term for them, to escort him to another little room and gave him a paper gown to put on over his clothes. That same nurse came back with paper booties and a cap for his head and brought him into the medical room with his wife.

Blaise had never been so scared in his life, Hermione had been laying on a table with a blue drape looming over her abdomen. There were many people in the room, not paying attention to him as he slowly began to lose his mind. Hermione laid there with tubes in her nose, her hair in a cap as well and speaking slowly to a nurse who was by a machine at her head. She looked over at him and gave him a shaky smile as he was ushered to a small stool by her head and told not to look over the blue curtain.

Hermione had known that, while she was terrified about having the procedure done, Blaise was completely panicked as he was a pureblood and had no knowledge of how many of these surgeries are done daily. He was ashen-faced as she brought her free hand up to his face and caressed his cheek until he looked at her. His blue eyes conveyed just how terrified he was, and he grasped her hand and held tight. She had been his rock that day, he was slightly ashamed that he had not been stronger.

The time in the operating room was brief, it felt to him like that went too quickly, one moment he had heard the healer saying something about starting the incision and the next he had heard the most glorious noise of a small baby crying and the healer announce it was a girl. The healer had lifted the baby over the curtain and Blaise was amazed at how beautiful the cry was. He was also surprised at how disgusting the baby looked, white gunk on her pale skin, her light blonde hair matted to her head and her tiny eyes opening and closing at the bright lights of the room.

The healer handed his daughter off to another nurse who began cleaning Cassie off a bit before handing her to Blaise. Blaise remembered how his arms shook almost violently when she was put in his arms. He could almost feel Hermione's fingers on his bicep as she reached up to caress Cassie's blonde locks. The rest of that day was a blur, filled with healers and nurses; but all Blaise remembered was standing at the window of his wife's room, sunlight shining from behind the December clouds, and his daughter's tiny fingers clutching onto his pointer as Hermione finally slept. That was the first time he felt complete; Cassie was his, he was not just a stand-in father, he was a father.

Landon's laugh came up from behind Blaise, and he turned to see his friend flying up next to him. "Isn't it scary just how much our little Cupcake resembles her mum?" Landon had said, clapping his friend on the back as Ron, Harry, and Draco got back on their brooms and flew to join the game again. Blaise chuckled, looking down at Cassie, who was watching Draco fly away. Cassie caught her father's eye and gave Blaise a giant smile and a whispered, 'I love you Papa' before running over to her mother for a hug.

After the game, it was time to open presents. Gathering the family into the parlour was a feat on its own. While Zabini Estate was not small, forty people in one room was not an easy thing to do. Especially with so many children, the place was bursting at the seams. Cassie received many presents that day. Draco smirked at the fact that his mother had given her a wardrobe full of robes, as did Eliana. Blaise laughed as it seemed that the grandmothers have shopped too much together as many of the robes were the same.

Cassie smiled and asked her grandmothers if she could possibly share her new clothing with her cousins. Both of them nodded, of course, knowing there were at least three little girls around her same size that could benefit from the doubles. Cassie gave both her paternal grandmothers a hug and her thanks and continued on. She had received so much that she had taken to giving her cousins some of her gifts as she did not need much. Draco mused that this must be her usual giving nature, keeping a little of what is given and then sharing with her family.

Hermione had given Cassie a diary with her name on the cover. It was a beautiful maroon leather-bound book with enchantments to keep nosy brothers and roommates out. Blaise had gotten his little girl a beautiful charm bracelet made of the best goblin made silver with her initials on it and a charm that Marco had picked out.

Cassie smiled brightly at the silver on her arm, admiring how the little broomstick charm her brother picked for her. Noticing a small silver box sitting on the table next to her, she picked it up and examined the deep purple ribbon with the initials D.M. on the edge. Her grey eyes looked up to see Draco give her a small smile and a nod. With a little grin of her own, she pulled on the ribbon and lifted the lid.

Cassie's eyes grew large at the galleon size silver pendant cocooned in a small silk pillow. Cassie lifted it out of the box and looked up at Draco, who was walking towards her with a smile on his face.

Once he reached her, he began to speak. "I have never had to shop for a twelve-year-old little girl, so forgive me if it isn't to your liking." He said with a slight tremble in his throat. Very unlike a Malfoy, emotion filled his voice. "It is a Malfoy family tradition to receive the family crest once you are Hogwarts age. Scorpius has a similar ring as your pendant." Draco continued as Cassie fingered the large black M on the front.

"I happen to think that it's a bit gauche for a young girl to have such a monstrosity sitting on her finger. So I found that a pendant might be more your style."

He flipped the coin pendant over, and on the other side, Cassie could see the familiar crest of the Zabini family, identical to the one that dangled from the charm bracelet her parents gave her on her eleventh birthday. "This is because I acknowledge that you are also a Zabini," Draco explained as Cassie reached out and caressed that familiar Z among the swirls, "I did not want you to think that you had to choose because that will never happen." He flicked the clasp at the top of the bale, and the pendant opened.

The pendant Cassie believed to be just a simple necklace was, in fact, a locket with three pieces that opened like a book. Cassie smiled as she looked down at the picture of her mother and father. Blaise and Hermione both smiled up brightly at their daughter. On the same side as her parents was a photo of Marco and herself, both seemingly laughing at an unknown joke.

As she turned it over, she was delighted to see that there was a picture of Scorpius smiling sheepishly back at her. To her surprise, she saw herself join her brother as well as Marco. It seemed that Draco had charmed the locket like the portraits of Hogwarts, able to visit each frame.

In the last frame was a photo of Draco, looking up at her as a proud father. With tears blurring her vision, Cassie smiled brightly at the picture as Draco looked on; only breaking eye contact with her to greet photo Hermione who joined him and photo Draco gave her a tender kiss. Cassie laughed slightly as she could see the children of the opposite frame pretend gagging at the loving couple.

Draco looked down at the little girl, he could see the emotions on her face, he knew it would be a risk giving such a gift so soon after meeting. They had only met three months prior, but he wanted her to know that he thought of her as much his as Scorpius. "You don't have to wear it," He said, believing she was overwhelmed, "I know you have a crest alread-"

His words were cut off as she lunged at him, hugging him around the middle tightly. Cassie put as much emotion into the hug as she could muster, she was afraid to open her mouth as she was her mother's child and would end up sobbing instead of talking coherently.

"I love it," Cassie managed to mumble into his grey button down shirt, "I love it so much, thank you Daa- Draco." She stumbled on her words and flushed a bright pink. She moved her massive curls off her neck, "Could you put it on for me?" Draco nodded as he undid the clasp and reattached it around her neck. As soon as the prongs shut, the buckle disappeared as was traditional for all wizarding crests. There would be no removing it unless the owner chose to.

"Aww," could be heard from various places around the room and Draco looked up surprised. He had forgotten that they were in the middle of a birthday celebration with about forty red heads staring at the two of them.

Cassie looked up, surprised as well, but then said, "Look what father got me?" and ran to her Nona Eliana to share her new pendant. Eliana had tears in her eyes at the dual crests and gave her granddaughter a hug, in which she pulled Narcissa into as well. While Narcissa did not shed tears, she couldn't conceal the wetness at the corners and the soft smile she gave Cassie as she also admired the beautiful pendant.

The room began to buzz with chatter as Cassie was with her grandmothers, Jean and Molly both donned their own hugs and congratulations. Draco went to stand with Hermione who was opening crying into Blaise's shoulder as he had his other arm around Susan who was standing rubbing her back. Susan was also in tears at the scene.

"Well," Theo said as he walked over with Pansy. He had shaken his head and chuckled at the sight of Blaise comforting his ex-wife while his fiancee was in tears as well. "Blaise, you seem to do well with two women, you ever think of a triad? Ouch, fuck Pans!" Theo cradled his stomach as Pansy had just smacked him in the gut.

"Shut it, Theo, don't be a ponce." Pansy scolded as she reached over and gave Draco a hug, "I knew you would find the right gift. See Draco, you aren't a total loss."

The friends all laughed as Hermione turned and Draco pulled her into his arms. He caressed her cheek lovingly and gave her a sweet kiss that gained him another, "Aww." and a giggle from the masses, especially the girls.

"Alright, stop getting sappy." Harry bellowed, "Merlin, you would think you snakes had hearts or something. I thought you were all cold blooded down in the dungeons," he teased, "Or were you guys too busying keeping warm with all that friction of- ouch! Damn it, Hermione! That one really stung!"

"Not in front of the children!" Hermione reprimanded her oldest friend as she sent a sharp stinging hex at Harry's arm.

"Fine, I'm sorry," Harry said rolling his eyes at the room. The boys all sniggered, gaining stern looks from all their mothers, "I was just trying to get everyone's attention for my gift to Cassie."

Cassie looked up at her uncle with a grin. "Cassiopeia Zabini, front and centre," Harry commanded of his niece. Cassie ran up and bounced on her heels. Harry presented her with a rolled parchment.

Cassie let out an excited shriek as she pulled off the ribbon attached and opened the yellow paper. A small photo fell out, and Cassie let out a shout of joy as she reached down and picked up the picture. Draco stood confused as she launched herself at Harry with shouts of thanks and then bound up to her parents.

"Look! Look what Uncle Harry got me!" She said with an ecstatic cry, "He got me a hippogriff fowl! Look how beautiful he is! The letter says he's a fowl of Buckbeak! He's a family hippogriff! Mum, look how gorgeous he is, can I keep him!?"

Hermione looked surprised, "Cassie, Love. Where are we going to put a hippogriff?"

"The letter says the fowl will stay at the castle until the end of the school year so I can get to know him," Cassie rambled on, "Then we can take him home, and I'll take excellent care of him. Please mum, I really love him! He's one of Buckbeak's children, we have to keep him."

"Buckbeak," Draco said, the name sounded familiar on his tongue, but he couldn't quite place it.

Cassie looked over at Draco and nodded enthusiastically, "Yes, Buckbeak is the hippogriff that mum and Uncle Harry-"

"The chicken that tried to take my arm off?" Draco cried out loud and jerked his head up to look at Harry, who was now trying not to die from laughter as he watched Draco put the pieces together. "You are giving my twelve-year-old daughter the offspring of a potential killer?"

All the Hogwarts alumni of the room sniggered at the memories except for Hermione who was telling Draco that Buckbeak was perfectly safe and not a killer as he was still alive.

"Though you did lose a lot of blood from that attack," Blaise said trying to hide a chuckle, "Is that why you're so pale?"

Ron and Harry both fell to their knees laughing at Blaise's comment and Draco punched him in the arm.

"Draco, my fowl is innocent, and Buckbeak wouldn't have killed you, you just have to know how to calm him." Hermione sniggered at the memory of Hagrid saying something similar in the past. "Please mum. I really love him!"

"Where are we going to put him," Hermione asked as she pinched Draco's side. She could hear him mumbling something about putting him out to pasture with the other killers. "We live in muggle London Cassie, we can't have a hippogriff in our garden."

"Draco has a paddock," Theo said with a chuckle, "Lucius use to breed those infernal white peacocks."

"Oh yes," Narcissa said with a smile, "I hated those damn birds. Mean little pests, just like their master. But the paddock would be perfect, and Cassie could come seem the little fowl whenever she liked."

"Mother, I don't." Draco had started, but with one look from his mother he sighed and agreed. Slightly vowing a slow and painful death to Potter and his ginger sidekick for giving his daughter the child of the beast that tried to amputate him. Draco would get his revenge on the dynamic duo, if he had to wait years, he would get even.


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: I know, it's been FOREVER since the last update of Cassie. I have had a really hard time trying to find the right words for this chapter and then in the end, it went a completely different direction so I am not completely a fan of it, but it does work. I have been working on other projects, Bonds and While We Were Gone, so it's not like I haven't been writing, but Cassie just wasn't flowing nicely for me. Let me know what you think, I might have to re-write this chapter, but I can do that later. This has not been beta'd, my beta has a newborn and I don't want to rush her at all so it's just been through a grammarly check. Let me know if there is any glaring errors on my part.**

 **Peace, Love, and Slyther,**

 **Gimi aka Jess**

After the chaos of Christmas and the article, which Cassie and her brothers were featured in along with her parents, things began to calm down. Blaise and Susan were busy. Still, Susan had wanted to celebrate their engagement during a New Year's party. Blaise, Susan, and Owen had moved into a five bedroom detached home just outside of London near Hermione's as the Zabinis always kept close quarters for the children. All four children were excited for the move as they had formed a tight bond as siblings.

The blended family were all at Malfoy Manor a few days before the big New Years party, the children all playing in the indoor pool with the men while Hermione and Susan finished up details with Eliana and Narcissa in the conservatory for the engagement when there was a knock at the door. Narcissa frowned, no one they knew ever came to the door, most came through the floo, but she ignored it as Mip would get it.

The elf came back through as Draco left the pool area to check on the ladies.

"Master Malfoy," Mip began, "Uh, Ms Greengrass is at the door."

Draco scowled, "What is she doing here?"

"Mip does not know sir," The elf said, "She is wanting to talk to you I's think."

"Blasted woman," Draco bit out, "Fine, see her to the parlour and make sure she can not leave the room."

Mip nodded and Pop! Away.

"What do you think she wants Draco?" Narcissa said, anger evident in her voice.

Draco shook his head and gave Hermione a kiss on the cheek, "I don't know Mother, but I will find out." He went to grab his wand. Drying himself off he transfigured his trunks into a pair of trousers and put his vest and shirt back on.

"I'll be right back," He said with one more kiss on Hermione's cheek.

Astoria Greengrass had never been so livid at her ex-husband as she was right now. She had been shown to the formal parlour and was being watched by her former elf like some sort of criminal. She was the lady of the house for Merlin's sake, or she was until that mudblood re-entered their lives.

"What do you want Astoria," Draco asked as soon as he joined her in the room.

"I want to see my son Draco," Astoria said, anger in her eyes.

"Really?" Draco asked amused.

"Yes, you've kept him from me for far too long. I want to see Scorpius." She said, standing up straight to show she meant business.

"The winter hols started two weeks ago Astoria. Christmas was a few days ago and not even an owl from you or your so-called family to say happy Christmas. What? You just remembered you have a son?"

Astoria looked at him dumbfounded, not sure what to say, "I… You… I wasn't…"

"What?"

"He…"

"He's a child Astoria," Draco said sarcastically, "He shouldn't have to reach out first. You are supposedly his mother, you should have been at the station to meet him. You should have owled him to see if you could have a few days with him. He's eleven years old, he is old enough to make decisions on if he wants to see you. You put no effort to see him, so what are you doing here?"

"I told you," Astoria seethed, "I want to see my son."

"No," Draco said simply.

"No?" Astoria cried in incredulity, "Why not? He's mine!"

"He's not a dress you daft woman!" Draco yelled, "He isn't a toy! Something you can just decide you want to sit on your mantle one day for the guests. You want to see him, you call in advance, you write to your son and see if he wants to see you. You don't come to his home and disrupt his life when he hasn't heard from you in months!"

"Draco!"

"No!" He yelled, anger now flowing through his veins. "No! I told you that you could continue to see Scorpius. I never stopped you from writing to your son, because no matter what I think of you, you are his mother. I told you to just make arrangements, and we would make it work, it is not my fault that you can't follow simple instructions Astoria."

"I want to take him on holiday, I wanted it to be a surprise!" Astoria yelled, ignoring all that he said.

"You think that I would just allow you to take my son on holiday without any information beforehand?" Draco cried, "Are you out of your bloody mind? Maybe this would have been acceptable if you would have contacted me a month ago, or a few weeks ago, but you spring this on me now? What? Hours before your portkey? Exactly where did you think you could take our son without my knowledge?"

"I have a friend who has a house in the Caribbean," Astoria said stubbornly.

Draco began to laugh, "You think I was just going to allow that to happen? Taking him out of the country? Who is this friend?"

"Samuel Pucey," Astoria said scowling.

Draco laughed harder, "You are trying to use our son to score yourself a man? Sam Pucey has been looking for a ready-made family for ages, you think that Scorpius is your ticket back into the good graces of the wizarding world?"

"That's not-"

"You forget Astoria," Draco sneered, "I am one of the pureblood elite, I know exactly what you are doing! Sam Pucey needs an heir, and you are trying to show that you have already had one child, trying to portray yourself as a loving mother, using our son as a prop! I won't allow it."

Astoria, angry that her ex-husband was once again getting in her way, pulled out her wand and a vase launched itself at Draco. Anticipating this, Draco brought up a strong shield charm and the vase shattered against his defensive move.

"Draco," Hermione called walking into the room, her brown eyes widen at the mess, "Draco, what is going on? The children are coming up for lunch."

Draco waved his wand, fixing the broken vase, turning back to a fuming Astoria, "Get out. You can't use my son to land yourself a new rich husband. If you say anything to Scorpius before you leave about this, I will make sure you never find a husband that has a knut to his name. Now. Get. Out."

Astoria stomped her way out of the parlour, "You forget who I am Draco, I will get you for this."

Draco laughed cruelly, "No Astoria, you seem to forget who I AM. You think I was hard on you before? You try and use my son, and I will not only destroy you, but you will see that the Greengrass name will mean less than dirt in our world."

Astoria had made it all the way to the door, she turned once more to yell at her ex when a barely audible, "Mum?" came from the hall. She turned her blue eyes towards the voice and regret filled them. Almost immediately, she turned and walked out the door.

Hermione's heart dropped as the door shut. Walking over to the young boy, she put her arms around his shoulders and led him into the dining room where the rest of the family had been waiting for them. Sitting between the two Zabini children, Scorpius swallowed whatever he was feeling and began to fill his own plate.

Sighing, Draco pulled Hermione into her chair next to him, shook his head at his mother and the family began lunch. He hated Astoria just a bit more, as he watched his son eat quietly. He wished he never let her into the house. He needed to talk to his barrister, he wouldn't allow her to hurt Scorpius again.

 **OoOoOoO**

The New Year's celebration for the families was done at Eliana's home as it doubled as an engagement party. Hermione, Susan and Cassie had found a beautiful knee length blue gown for Cassie to wear that made her eyes sparkle. The children were all allowed to attend the party until the Weasley parents took them all to the Burrow for the night.

Hermione stood at the window, watching as snow began to fall in the world outside. She had turned to see Susan and Blaise dancing. She felt her heart clench just a bit when she saw the happiness in his brown eyes. No matter how happy she was, she couldn't help feeling like she might have lost him for good. It was irrational, she knew it, but it couldn't be helped.

Not wanting to bring down the party with her ill mood, she left the room to walk outside, only bumping into an acquaintance of the family. Apologising for the run in, she reached the door and let herself out into the garden. Hermione loved Eliana's garden, this was her favourite place in all of Zabini Estates.

Casting a warming charm as she did not stop to grab her cloak; she walked down the path to her bench, as Blaise called it, right in front of the pond. Sitting down, the fairy lights twinkling around her; she let her memories take her back. Take her back to the first time she sat on this same bench, a few days after they had left Hogwarts. Blaise had taken her to visit his mother and announce their own engagement. Hermione chuckled at the very different reception she had received from her mother in law.

Eliana was not impressed that Blaise was to marry a muggleborn, while she did not mistreat muggles or muggleborn witches and wizards, that didn't mean she wanted her only son to marry one.

 _Hermione had left the mother and son to argue about her while she went to sit in the garden. She had been sitting there for a while; enjoying the peace, when she felt the presence of another sitting next to her._

" _What is it that you want with my son Miss Granger," Eliana said in her clipped voice, sitting with her ankles crossed, watching the young muggleborn witch holding her legs in front of her, watching the wildlife around the pond._

" _I want nothing of your son Lady Zabini," Hermione said, still staring, "I told him it wasn't necessary."_

" _You don't want your child to have a father," Eliana inquired._

" _My child will have everything it needs, maybe not all they desire, but this child will never go without," Hermione said looking at Eliana for the first time, "I don't need Blaise for that."_

" _Do you love my son or do you love his friend?" Eliana pressed on._

 _Hermione looked her in the eye, "I love them both. I loved Draco, I won't deny that. If I hadn't, I would not be in this predicament. I do not make a habit of taking things lightly. I loved him while we were together and now that we are not…" Hermione looked away, watching a bird fly over the horizon, "Well I still love him, but I am no longer in love with him."_

" _And my son?"_

 _Hermione smiled absentmindedly, "Blaise is my saviour, he is my beacon in the dark. He is the reason I am still here, whole, and in one piece. I am not one who would hurt myself, physically, but I'm sure if it weren't for him, I would still be broken."_

" _So you are using him?"_

" _In a way, yes," Hermione said simply. Eliana was fuming and about to throw the pregnant witch out on her ear when Hermione continued, "I'm using him because I can't breathe without him. I can't get through the day without seeing his bright smile, to hear his voice, feel his touch. I would die without him. While I don't need my child to have a father, I can't see a better man than Blaise to fill that role, if he so chooses."_

 _No longer needing to speak as Eliana contemplated Hermione's response, the older witch left, the younger to sit. Blaise had come out to sit with Hermione soon after his mother had gone into the house._

 _Eliana watched as her only son hold his bride. She had continued to watch her son and Hermione and could see that the two loved one another. Eventually, she began to see Hermione as not only her son's wife but her daughter._

"Hermione, what are you doing out here?" Draco asked, sitting next to his girlfriend. He had looked for her inside, and of course, Blaise knew where to find her. Draco couldn't help but be jealous that his best mate knew his girl better than him, though once again, an irrational thought.

"Just thinking," She answered, giving him a smile as she curled into his side, "This is my favourite spot, it's so quiet." Draco nodded in agreement as he could no longer hear the crowd of people from the house.

"Are you sad about Blaise and Susan," Draco voiced his fear, Blaise and Hermione had been together for quite a long time and were still very close. They had a relationship better than most married couples.

Hermione shrugged her shoulders, "Yes and no I suppose. I'm not exactly sad, maybe jealous? For the same reason as always. While I love that Blaise has found his future in Susan, I still feel a bit left out. We have a good past, a great friendship and while I know nothing will change that, it's still a little fear that it will somehow. But then I feel bad that I feel that way because I have you and I am so happy with you. I sometimes feel like I shouldn't feel this happy, that it can't be real because this is life and nothing this good ever happens in real life."

Hermione looked at Draco and smiled, "I don't love Blaise, Draco. Not like that," Hermione almost smiled as she sat here, in the same spot, delivering the same message, "I love Blaise, I always will, but I'm not in love with him." She brought her hand up to cup his face, as he leaned into her fingers, she said, "I'm in love with you. I've never stopped loving you Draco. I've always loved you."

Bringing his own hand up to hers, he brought her palm to his lip and kissed it gently, "I love you too Hermione."

Draco dipped down and kissed her chilled lips, warming them with his own. The kiss began soft and gentle, but soon became rough and heated. His lips moved against hers as if trying to devour her, to show her his love through the passion of his touch. A familiar ache began to pool in his groin, and he pulled away before he took her on that very bench.

"We should go back in," Hermione said between gulps of air, a smile gracing her swollen lips, "It's almost midnight, we'll miss the New Year."

Draco grinned, peppering her face with light kisses, "Fuck it, let's go back to your place and ring in the year naked in your bed. It's the first year that we are going to ring in together since we were in school. I want to be with you and only you. Show you how much I love you."

Hermione moaned as his long fingers ran down her neck and settled on her waist. She nodded her agreement and stood pulling him with her. As a member of the Zabini family, she took his hand and apparated them right out of the garden and into her bedroom.

As they landed, Draco began to pull his cloak off as Hermione pulled at his tie; their lips never leaving the kiss that was consuming them. Hermione began to unbutton his shirt as his cool fingers caressed her naked back finding the zip and slowly pulling it down, leaving gooseflesh in its wake.

The silver dress Hermione had chosen for the party, fell from her body, leaving her standing in front of Draco, bare from the waist up. He pulled away from her lips once again, his grey eyes roamed, hungrily up and down her body before he moved in and began to leave a trail of hot kisses down her neck, making his way down to her breast.

Hermione, tired of the barriers, pulled roughly against his shirt, the offending buttons popping off. Draco pulled her legs up against him and made his way to her bed, throwing her atop and pulled off his trousers and pants.

Reaching down between them, Hermione stroked his hard member, holding firmly and heard the moans of pleasure that came from his mouth, enjoying the vibrations of his words against her body. Lightly nipping at her pink buds of her breasts, Draco continued his journey south, needing the taste of her on his tongue.

Draco momentarily stopped to pay homage to the one scar left on her pale form, the imperfection that gave life to their daughter. His fingers left her breast, sliding slowly down her sides, one resting on her hip and the other moving further down to cup her apex, as he kissed each inch of the scar, thanking her body for the gift she had given him. Silently promising not to do wrong by her this time.

Hermione arched her back, the blood coursing through her body, surging to her centre as she felt Draco's fingers slide through her folds and into her hot depths, his tongue and warm breath, taking up residence on her already sensitive nub. It did not take long before Hermione was moaning out his name in pleasure.

Sliding back up her body, Draco slid into her quivering channel, nestling deep within her, not letting her rest, making her ride out her orgasm as he thrust deep and determined into her. One leg resting on his hip, the other thrown over his shoulder, his cock filling each inch of her. Hermione continued to moan, her nails digging into his ass, pulling him closer so she could feel his tongue dance on her own.

Faster, harder, deeper, pounding flesh, grunts of pleasure, soft caresses, frantic tugs, the couple continued into the night. As the rest of the world was celebrating the New Year, Hermione and Draco were celebrating their love. As their hot and sticky bodies joined one last time to a climatic end, Hermione remembered that she too had more to look forward to in the new year.


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: I know, I suck. It's been months and months. This story has an ending, but it is just taking me so long to get to it. I love this story, Cassie is my baby, but it is such a process that I couldn't do it. I hope you enjoy the chapter. It hasn't been beta'd because I literally just finished it right now.**

 **Peace, Love, and Slyther,**

 **Gimi aka Jess**

The following months after the holidays were busy. Eliana, Susan, and Blaise were in full wedding planning mode. Blaise and Susan wanted Hermione to be included as well, but as much as she loved her ex-husband and her friend; that was not going to happen. Hermione was not going to take the joy away from Eliana and Susan, so she said.

Secretly, Hermione knew that Eliana wanted to have the wedding that she never got with Hermione's wedding and was planning on a show-stopping affair. There was no way she was going to be a part of that. Susan and Blaise were already rushing through the planning, they wanted to wed that coming fall. Seeing as it was already almost March, Hermione did not know how her mother in law would pull it off. A society wedding in five month's time? Though, if anyone could do it, Eliana Zabini was the witch. With Narcissa Malfoy at her side, Hermione was sure Blaise and Susan could have said they wanted to marry next week and the affair would be tasteful, elegant, and include a twenty piece orchestra.

Blaise walked through his office door and laid on the sofa in front of Hermione's desk. Draco, who had been visiting Hermione during lunch, glanced over at his girlfriend as she snickered at her ex.

"Wha-" Draco began to ask before Hermione shook her head. He frowned slightly as she opened a drawer in her desk, pulled out a muggle sweet and walked over to Blaise. Pushing his head up, she sat down and he put his head back on her lap and sighed contentedly as she began to scratch his head.

He reached over and took the sweet from her hand and began to open it. Moaning in pleasure as the chocolate touched his tongue.

Hermione laughed at him before saying, "Okay Blaise, what is wrong that I had to break out the emergency stash? Which, by the way, I know you've been dipping into, it's your turn to replenish the stock."

Draco watched fascinated as Blaise waved his hand and continued to eat his candy. Hermione and Blaise's relationship, once again, confused him. The way she comforted him, it was astounding how close they still were. Jealousy roared through his veins, unwillingly, as he saw the easy comfort they provided for each other. He knew nothing would come of it, but Blaise had swooped in before, he couldn't get it out of his mind that he could do it again.

"Susan has been looking at China patterns with my mother for the reception, she has sent me four owls with samples of plates and cutlery and has asked me to pick. Cara, she sent me four of the same pattern! The same colour! Everything!" Blaise waved his wand and the offending china appeared on his desk for Hermione's perusal.

Moving Blaise's head, Hermione went to the desk and examined the plates. She began to mix the silver around, a frown on her face, turning her head side to side as she focused. Draco went to stand next to Hermione. Looking down he saw what Blaise meant. In front of him, there were four plates, all white and four sets up silverware.

"Hermi-" Draco began, Hermione held up a finger as she moved one plate over with a set of simple gold tableware.

"Blaise, what are the colours again?" Hermione said over her shoulder, turning to look at her ex, waiting for his answer.

Blaise groaned, popped the last of his candy in his mouth, chewed, and swallowed as he walked over to the desk. "Silver, orange, and blue? No, a violet, I think," Blaise answered. As he said it, Hermione transfigured three rolls of parchment into the appropriate colours and shifted the golden spoons up against it. Then against the plate, she did this back and forth for three or four minutes.

Draco could almost see the wheels in her head turning as she finally picked the combination she liked the best. Vanishing the rest, she held up a white plate and a matte silver set of cutlery with a small design on the handles.

"This one," She said confidently, "If the centrepieces are going to be extravagant, then switch to a plain high shine handle, but if they are understated and elegant, then this simple detail will work nicely. Knowing Susan, I'm sure she will have a small centrepiece as to make it easier to converse, so this will work nicely."

"Why that plate? They all look the same? How do you know this?" Draco asked, finally getting a question out.

Hermione snickered, "It's not the same, The others were an ivory and a shell colour, this one is more of a bone, a tad of grey is mixed into it, it will look nice with either place setting. It's another dimension. Also, my mother in law is Eliana Zabini, you think she would allow me to be married to Blaise for twelve years and not know the difference between shell and bone? She rivals your mother," Hermione said as she turned around and smacked Blaise in the chest, "And next time you do this, I will flay you alive Blaise Zabini." She said with mock anger.

Blaise gave a confused look that did not reach his eyes, "Don't you dare try and defend this hoax to get me to pick your place setting. I was married to you for over ten years, you think I don't know when you are trying to manipulate me?"

Giving up, Blaise chuckled, "Okay, I admit it, I wanted you to pick the final setting for me! But really, she sent me ten settings and when I finally got it down to this four, I couldn't see straight!"

Hermione shook her head, "Blaise, I appreciate you wanting my help, but I can't be involved with this."

Blaise groaned, "Why not Hermione? We are family!"

"I know we are, we always will be, but I am also your ex and contrary to our current situation, there are some things that I should not be involved with. Your wedding plans to Susan are very much a part of that list. Susan deserves her own space, she deserves her own time with you during the planning. You and your mother. The only people who should be involved outside of you three are the children. I don't wish to come between the two of you during this process."

"You're being ridiculous, Susan loves you and would love your input."

Hermione shook her head, "No matter our friendship, no woman wants to plan her wedding to the man she loves with the woman he loved. No Blaise, no more."

Blaise huffed, hands thrown in the air, "Fine! I just… I don't know how to do this without you okay? It's been twelve years of us against the world, I don't know how to plan these things without you, Hermione."

Hermione smiled, her eyes watery with unshed tears, "I know and my gut is saying to go in and take over. Because it concerns you and the children, but my logical brain knows I need to stand back and let it go."

Blaise sighed, "I understand, I do. I didn't realise how difficult this would be. We look at all the different parts of the wedding and I want to ask your opinion, I know it's weird, but you're my best friend."

Hermione understood where Blaise was coming from, but for the sake of her hus- ex-husband's pending marriage, she knew it was time to step back.

"I'm sorry Blaise, I can't help. This is your life, yours and Susan's. I can't be a part of this."

Draco, seeing the look of sadness in Hermione's brown eyes said, " Come in Love, let's go get some ice cream. Leave Blaise to his place setting."

Hermione nodded and took Draco's arm as they walked out of the office. As they walked into the lift, as the doors shut, tears began to fall, leaving a wet trail down her cheeks. Draco turned her towards him and began to rub her back as she clutched his. Whispering words of comfort, whatever jealousy he had felt, vanished as she leaned into his embrace. He kissed the top of her head as the lift slowed to a stop.

Waving her hand in front of her face, the wetness evaporated and the red tinge of her eyes disappeared as the doors opened. Giving Draco a loving smile, they walked out of the building and went on their quest for a delicious treat.

Several floors above, watching from the office, Blaise stood there feeling slightly lonely as his first love walked away with his childhood friend. Though they had been divorced for over a year and he was beyond happy with Susan, this was the first time he had felt like he had lost a bit of his family. Blaise did not know how to wrap his mind over that fact. Part of his life was truly over.

 **OoOoOoO**

The month just flew by and before he knew it, it was the end of March. Draco walked into his mother's cottage, a frown on his face. Narcissa sat in her favourite chair, drinking her afternoon tea and reading as he walked up and kissed her on the cheek before sitting down across from her.

"Hello Darling," Narcissa said fondly, "What brings you here this evening?"

Draco gave his mother a tight smile, "Just stopped by to say hello. Have you heard from the children lately?"

"Yes, Cassie sent me a letter just yesterday. She is such a dear, she writes to me every week, even more than Scorpius."

Draco nodded as he looked into the fire, thinking. Narcissa watched her son, he had a look of unease on his face, "Draco dear, what is wrong? You look distressed?"

"Hmm?" Draco answered, his attention brought back to his mother," "Oh, nothing mother, just thinking of the children."

"And their mother?" Narcissa asked knowingly. She didn't bother to pluralize it, she knew how little interest Astoria had in her son and she knew how much love and attention Hermione had given him instead, "How is Hermione? I haven't seen her in a while."

Draco shrugged, "I haven't seen her in a few days, Theo and I had some business in Paris and when I went to her office, both she and Blaise were out. The assistant said Blaise was in New York for a couple days, but Hermione hadn't been in for a day or so. My owls are coming back unopened."

Narcissa's face paled, "What could have happened? Is she okay?"

"I talked to Harry, he said she is fine but is out of communication for a few days. Apparently, it's something she does semi-regularly?"

"Have you talked to Blaise? Should you be worried?"

"Blaise is unreachable, The house is warded, she isn't home. I don't know where she is."

"Draco, how long has it been since you talked to her? Did you quarrel?"

"Mother I've been out of the country, I haven't done anything. Besides, we hardly disagree, I highly doubt it's something to do with me."

Narcissa stared at her son, a feeling of unease in her stomach, her mother's intuition flaring, "Draco. Find her, something is wrong."

Startled by his mother's insistence, Draco nodded and left the cottage. He hadn't been too worried about Hermione, but he had to admit that she had a point. He couldn't think of a time in the last six months where she was unreachable. He had taken comfort that Harry would tell him if there was something wrong, but his mother's sixth sense made him uneasy.

Tracking down Hermione was not an easy task as it turned out. Her friends were not aware of where she went. Being away from home for all those years had made it so they didn't worry as much. Susan did let Draco know that while Blaise had been in New York, he and Hermione had a tradition around this time of year, she wasn't completely comfortable divulging their whereabouts, but did know they were together.

 **OoOoOoO**

Draco stood off to the side of the family plot. Watching from afar as his friend and his girlfriend sat side by side, his arm around her waist as she opening sniffled. He had found them in Italy with the help of Eliana, the Zabini matriarch could see the worry in Draco's demeanour. She knew he would not be at ease until he knew that Hermione was safe.

As if the two could feel the set of eyes looking upon them, they both turned towards Draco. Blaise stood up and held a hand out for Hermione, as she stood, he bent down and kissed her on the cheek and walked away, nodding a farewell to Draco as he did. Draco walked over to Hermione as she stood there, looking down at a little stone statue. Taking a closer look, he could see it was not a normal statue, but of a muggle angel.

"Draco," Hermione said as she wiped her wet eyes, "Wha? How did you find us?"

 _ **Sophia Marie Zabini**_

 _ **D.O.B January 28, 2001, D.O.D. April 10, 2001**_

 _ **Our loving angel,**_

 _ **our world stood still with your last breath.**_

 _ **Forever in our hearts.**_

"Hermione," Draco let out with a shaky breath as he reached for her hand. When she took his, he brought her's to his lips, drawing her close.

She pulled away, turning towards the stone, "Please Draco, not here. Let's go to the villa first and talk, I… I just can't… just not here."

Draco nodded in agreement and he took a step back as she knelt down, pressing a kiss to her hand and laying it on the stone, she said a silent farewell and stood again. Holding her hand out to Draco, the two disapparated into nothingness.

Landing with a loud crack, Hermione winced slightly at a twinge in her ankle. Straightening up, she pulled Draco up the steps to the Zabini Villa and out of the chilled air.

Draco followed her into the parlour where tea was already waiting for them under a warming charm. He took a seat as Hermione busied herself by serving the tea and snacks.

Draco took this time to observe his girlfriend, he could see her clothing better as she had taken off her cloak. He frowned at how slightly ill-fitting her clothes seemed to lie on her frame. He quickly thought back to their last night together before he had left on business. It had only been a week tops and he could see she was not eating properly.

Hermione set a cup in front of him and he grabbed her wrist and gently led her to take a seat next to him, "Hermione, Love. What is the matter?"

Hermione shook her head, tears welling in her eyes and a sob escaped her lips. Bringing his arms around her, she continued to cry.

Draco sat with his girlfriend, holding her close until her sobs subsided. He knew she must have had a hard few days and understood why she was upset.

"Sophia was our second child," Hermione said after her breathing calmed, "She was a beautiful and curious baby. Cassie was just in love with her little sister." Hermione said as she accio'd a photo book from the shelf. She opened the well-loved pages showing a young toddler running around her mother's legs. Blaise was sitting next to Hermione, cooing at a brown-haired baby. Draco's heart dropped at the obvious look of love and contentment on Hermione's face.

"She was perfect, a little angel, but she had been sick for a few days, of course, she was too young for potions so she had to fight it the muggle way. One day she went to sleep and never woke up."

Draco's heart dropped, he had figured that something had happened, but he had never thought that. Usually, if a family lost a child, it was a miscarriage. Narcissa had miscarried twice before him and once after. Even Astoria had miscarried once after Scorpius was born. She had also been bedridden with Scorpius after a bleeding scare in her second trimester. But to hold your child for months before it is taken from you? There can't be a harder way to lose them.

"The med- wizards said it was just something that happened sometimes. SIDS, as it is known to muggles," Hermione took a moment and a breath, "My little brother had died the same way when I was a child. I didn't know it could happen to magical children, but I guess because I am a muggleborn, my children have a higher chance of developing muggle diseases and ailments. They can fight them better, but Sophie was really sick, to begin with, and it was so sudden and unexpected."

Draco held her hand, "I'm sorry you had to go through that Hermione."

Hermione nodded, looking into the grate, "Blaise and I, we didn't… we don't want to dwell on the fact that we lost her. The pain was too raw. The children know who she is, we just… even though it's been years, this time of year is just so hard for both of us. Blaise and I normally go away at the beginning of April to grieve privately, away from the children. Cassie barely remembers her and Marco wasn't even born yet, they don't really understand."

Draco nodded, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your process."

Hermione shook her head, "It's fine Draco, it's not like it's something that can continue. Blaise is getting married. I don't think Susan will be keen on him going away with his ex-wife for a weekend. She's lovely, but I can't ask that of her."

"Hermione."

Hermione shook her head, "No Draco, it's fine. This is what we wanted, what I wanted. I want him to be happy, to be loved unconditionally. The way I couldn't. And Susan is a lovely woman and I know she won't mind us going off to mourn the loss of our daughter, but at the same time, what woman wants her new husband to go off with his ex-wife? We already work together, share children, bloody hell, we even share an elf," Draco snorted at this, earning him a frown.

"I mean," Hermione continued, "Susan is the most patient woman on the planet. I don't want to intrude on her good nature. I don't want her to resent me because of my relationship with Blaise."

"Hermione, you are being idiotic," Draco said simply. Hermione looked at him offended, trying to rip her hand out of his when he held on tightly and continued, "Susan understands what you and Blaise have. She knows as well as I, that you are a family first and always, just like she will have Blaise, she will have you as well. Susan is a Hufflepuff, she is the embodiment of her house, she does not feel you as a threat because she knows that you and Blaise are not romantic. You've both had plenty of opportunities and neither have even thought about it because of the people you are."

"What kind of people are we?"

Draco looked into her warm brown eyes, "You are both loyal to those you love, you love with your whole heart. You are the type to let each other go and help one another find new love because you love each other in ways that transcend normal relationships. Even though you will continue to love him, because you aren't in love, you want him to find it. He does as well. Susan knows that I know that."

Hermione begins to cry again, "I can't lose Blaise, Draco. I… I can't. He is my rock, he has been there when I needed him most. I can't lose him." she looked into his grey eyes, the eyes she loved so much, and remembered the pain of twelve years previous, "I love you, I do. But Blaise, he held me together when you pulled me apart. For that, he will always be in my heart."

"I know Hermione," Draco said his own heartbreaking a little, "I know what I did to you all those years ago. I know what Blaise did for you, how he became your strength. Believe me when I say I am forever grateful that my best friend was able to be there for you when I couldn't. I also know and expect that he will always hold a place in your heart, a place that I won't be able to reach. Not today, maybe not ever. I know what I did to you, what my family put you through. All I can do is show you that I love you."

Hermione nodded, "I know. I just, it's hard. To find that balance between friend and family. Rationally I know that Susan understands, but a part of me is always thinking, what if she doesn't? What if she does resent me? If she's just being polite, but would rather I just take my children and never come back?"

Draco chuckled, "Well first off, I don't think that is her way. I know you two were friends before she started dating Blaise, I don't think she will want to cut you out. But talk to her, she loves the children as much as she loves her own. You are being too critical and emotional to think clearly. Let us have tea and then maybe you'll feel more balanced."

Hermione nodded, part of her offended that Draco called her too emotional to think clearly, but an even bigger part knew he was right. She knew she had too much turmoil in her head for her to be thinking logically.

Draco brought her hand to his lips, "I'm sorry Hermione. I'm sorry for what I did all those years ago. I'm sorry for the pain you endured, losing a child. I'm sorry for everything."

Hermione nodded her head, "Don't be silly Draco, what happened to us was so long ago. It had affected me for a while, a long while, I forgave you. I understand why it had to happen and I am not sorry it did. It brought our families to where they are and I wouldn't change that for anything. I loved Blaise as much as I could for many years. I am glad he found Susan, but it's sometimes so hard to find that line and not cross it. Our lives are so intertwined, I don't want her to think that we are still part of each other's lives in a more intimate setting. Not sex, obviously, but emotionally."

Draco pulled her into a hug, "You worry too much Hermione, I'm in the same position as Susan and you are doing a fine job at separating. Of course, the line is blurred, you were married for many years and are still very much intertwined, but the adoration you now show each other is almost the same as the love you have for Harry or Weasley. Maybe not that platonic, because you have a more intimate bond, but it's one of deep respect and love. Susan knows."

Once again, Hermione nodded her head, finally giving into his words. The two of them finished their tea and continued to talk. Hermione opened up about her life with Blaise, how the two of them grieved for their daughter and how it had made them stronger as a couple. While Sophia was never far from her thoughts, she had only recently begun to visit her resting place more often because the pain was too overwhelming before.

An hour later, Hermione stood outside of the home, turning towards the family plot and saying a mental goodbye to her daughter, until next time, pulled out a muggle lighter from her pocket and said, "Portus."

The portkey then swept the couple away from Zabini estate, one feeling remarkably lighter and peaceful and the other feeling lucky to be given the chance to be the rock for his love.


End file.
